And how we’re working on a 5th: Pet Tech for Dog Health!
One of the biggest sources of pet tech inspiration at DIG labs is the power of the camera – specifically, the cameras we are all carrying around in our pockets on our smartphone.
In fact, the latest smartphone cameras have become so advanced that entire shows, movies, and shorts have been filmed using camera phones alone – even digital cameras that are approaching $5,000 do not compare to the latest smartphone technology.
That’s why we are so excited to find ways to use camera technology to help us better understand our pets. Taking camera technology one step further, computer vision involves taking humans out of the equation completely, to understand and train machines to detect visual patterns and associations that the human eye and brain would never be able to make sense of on their own – and usually, much quicker and with greater accuracy and precision. Good news – while hugely valuable for high-tech, life-or-death problems like medical imaging and diagnostics – chances are, you are already benefiting from computer vision applications in your day to day life.
While we won’t get into all the nitty gritty details of computer vision here (visit our Medium blog, for that!), here are 4 ways computer vision is already improving our lives – from the practical to the high tech:
- Virtual Room Design: Remember the days when you wished for a technology where you could take a photo of your room and virtually design it? That day is today. Not only are virtual/augmented reality tools readily available today from most home furnishing stores, the real estate industry has practically standardized use of virtual staging to decorate vacant homes for sale. Not only is the tech available with 2D images, 3D libraries are also being generated to provide more immersive, true-to-life experiences.
- Breed Detection: Why spend close to $100 and wait a month to find out your dog’s breed? Snap a photo first and chances are that this this free app will get it right with the power of computer vision! Boasting 90+% accuracy and supporting over 590 breeds, Dog Scanner has created a virtual library of breeds to create visual classifications – maybe next, we will have a robot judging Westminster 😂.
And now for a few more high-tech solutions:
- Rapid CT Scan Analysis: Last year, Mount Sinai Health System developed a computer vision-based system that can identify abnormal CT scans in 1.2 seconds, over 150x faster than a trained technician or physician! Those seconds could mean life or death for patients with brain hemorrhages or strokes. And while those seconds are spent saving lives, doctors can spend more quality time with patients.
- Non-Invasive White Blood Cell Monitoring: Millions of people battling immune diseases are subject to regular blood draws – an uncomfortable, time consuming, and risky procedure. Leuko Labs is developing a non-invasive monitoring system, using computer vision for at-home testing by visualizing the small blood vessels in the finger. How cool is that?
We can’t wait to apply computer vision to be able to advance pet health for the 900 million dogs worldwide – in fact, we are actively building the DIG labs app, a quick, handy 10-second wellness check!
Interested in diving into the deep end on about Computer Vision? Visit and follow our tech blog where we love to geek out on all things machine learning and science.
