Jörgen Ahlberg, Visage Technologies, Linköping, Sweden

Commercializing Computer Vision. Why and how?

Abstract

Doing research in computer vision is fun and stimulating; it is a fast moving topic, there is a plethora  of scientific challenges, and the last decade it has also proven to very useful. Moreover, when various sensors (cameras etc) become increasingly inexpensive and ubiquitous, the hardware investments needed for practical usefulness become less of an obstacle. This makes the step from academic research to commercial products or services small, and as a result there are now numerous spin-off computer vision companies at universities and science parks.

A few years ago, I took the step from the research institute where I had worked for a decade, and I am now involved in four companies (and two more to be started this year) doing various kinds of computer vision. I will in my speech tell about my experiences from these companies as well as the technologies we use.