The business applications for computer vision—when machines can see, process and then act on visual input—are nearly endless. What seems like a fairly straightforward skill took decades of research to figure out how to do. Although there are still some challenges to overcome, computer vision is helping businesses in a number of ways.

1. What Is Computer Vision
And The Amazing Ways
It’s Used In Business

2. © 2019 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Title
Text
IntroductionIntroduction
It turns out that something most humans take for granted—the ability to see,
process and then act on visual input—is extraordinarily difficult to replicate in
machines. That’s precisely what computer vision (CV) aims to do. While
perhaps not as advanced as human sight, computer vision has developed to
the point it’s very useful in business today. Here’s more about what computer
vision is and how it’s used in business.
What is Computer Vision
And The Amazing Ways It's Used In Business

3. © 2019 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
What Is Computer Vision?
Computer vision describes the process when a computer using artificial intelligence
algorithms can identify and process images (photos, videos, etc.) and then create an
appropriate output from the analysis because the computer can actually "understand" the
content. Specifically, computer vision can classify, identify, verify, and detect objects. The
developments with computer vision in recent years were facilitated by machine learning
technology—in particular, the iterative learning process of neural networks—and
significant leaps in computing power, data storage, and high-quality yet inexpensive input
devices. There are three main components to computer vision.
1. Acquire The Image: When a digital camera captures an image, it creates a digital file
composed of zeros and ones.
2. Process It: Algorithms are used to determine basic geometric elements to build
images out of the binary data.
3. Analyse and Understand: In this final step of computer vision, the data is analysed.
High-level algorithms are used to then make decisions based on the images.

4. © 2019 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
What Is Computer Vision?
Since the very youngest of humans can process images and understand them, the
challenges of replicating that ability in machines were underestimated. What first seemed
like a simple problem to solve, turned out to require decades of research. There's a lot of
complexity in the visual world, and there is still a lot unknown about how human vision
works and how the brain perceives visual input.
Although the field of computer vision has overcome many challenges thus far, there are
still hurdles to tackle depending on what the computer vision is being used for and the
data it’s able to acquire. Computer vision requires a lot of data processing power and
memory, plus its results can be impacted by the quality of the images/data. Computer
scientists are still working on optimizing computer vision for all applications.

5. © 2019 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
How is Computer Vision Used In Business?
There are endless applications where the ability to extract meaning from “seeing” visual
data is useful. Computer vision combines with other technologies such as augmented and
virtual realities to enable additional capabilities.
Facial recognition, powered by computer vision, is used for surveillance and security
systems as well as the technology behind Facebook that identifies people to "tag" in
photos. China uses facial recognition technology in police work, payment portals, and
more. Even retail stores use the technology to monitor inventory, track customers through
the store, and allow customers to bypass the cash register by paying virtually when facial
recognition technology puts the items on their bill.
Many car manufacturers from Ford to Tesla are scrambling to get their version of the
autonomous vehicle into mass production. Computer vision is a critical technology that
makes autonomous vehicles possible. The systems on autonomous vehicles continuously
process visual data from road signs to seeing vehicles and pedestrians on the road and
then determine what action to take.

6. © 2019 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
How is Computer Vision Used In Business?
Computer vision in medicine helps in diagnosing disease and other ailments and extends
the sight of surgeons during operations. There are now smartphone apps that allow you
to diagnose skin condition using the phone's camera. In fact, 90 percent of all medial data
is image-based—X-rays, scans, etc. and a lot of this data can now be analysed using
algorithms.
Digital marketing: By using computers to sort and analyse through millions of online
images, marketers can bypass traditional demographic research and still target marketing
to the right online audience and do this work dramatically quicker than humans could.
Marketers even use computer vision to ensure ads are not placed near content that is
contradictory or problematic for its audience.
Financial institutions use computer vision to prevent fraud, allow mobile deposits, and
display numerical information visually.
In manufacturing, computer vision makes things more efficient, effective, and safe. It's
used in predictive maintenance to identify an issue before any breakdowns occur as well
as in quality control measures. The quantity of items a machine can verify outpaces
human's ability to do the same dramatically.

7. © 2019 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
How is Computer Vision Used In Business?
The agriculture industry uses computer vision to make operations more successful by
monitoring fields looking for signs of disease or pests so swift action can be taken to
eradicate it. John Deere introduced a semi-autonomous combine harvester that can find
the optimal route through crops after analysing the quality of grains that are harvested.
Handwriting Extraction and Analysis: Computer vision can translate handwritten
meeting notes or creative brainstorming into digital formats which make it easier to share
with others in the company.
The applications of computer vision are so varied that it is hard to imagine a business that
couldn't benefit from it.

8. © 2017 Bernard Marr , Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
© 2018 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Bernard Marr is an internationally best-selling author, popular keynote speaker, futurist, and a
strategic business & technology advisor to governments and companies. He helps
organisations improve their business performance, use data more intelligently, and
understand the implications of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data,
blockchains, and the Internet of Things.
LinkedIn has ranked Bernard as one of the world’s top 5 business influencers. He is a frequent
contributor to the World Economic Forum and writes a regular column for Forbes. Every day
Bernard actively engages his 1.5 million social media followers and shares content that
reaches millions of readers.
Visit The
Website
© 2017 Bernard Marr , Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
© 2019 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Bernard Marr is an internationally best-selling author, popular keynote speaker, futurist, and a
strategic business & technology advisor to governments and companies. He helps
organisations improve their business performance, use data more intelligently, and
understand the implications of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data,
blockchains, and the Internet of Things.
LinkedIn has ranked Bernard as one of the world’s top 5 business influencers. He is a frequent
contributor to the World Economic Forum and writes a regular column for Forbes. Every day
Bernard actively engages his 1.5 million social media followers and shares content that
reaches millions of readers.
Visit The
Website

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