Google programme showcases AI tools that can help firms catch hazards at work, enhance security

Playing mobile games instead of being productive at work? Surveillance cameras backed by generative artificial intelligence (AI) could rat you out to your employer.

Developed by Singapore-based start-up Lytehouse, the AI can also be paired with camera feeds to support logistics operations to track parcels on a factory line and enhance security by alerting users to incidents like muggings or unsafe behaviour.

Google Cloud showcased the ways companies like Lytehouse are using generative AI tools, such as chatbots, video-editing software and image-recognition software, on Sept 20 at an event at Google’s office in Pasir Panjang.

The show featured 25 tech start-ups that have developed AI solutions using Google’s Gemini AI platform, as part of the inaugural cohort of partners in the three-month Google for Startups Accelerator: AI First Singapore programme, which is supported by Enterprise Singapore.

Generative AI, which can produce text, images, and code from simple prompts, gained widespread attention in 2022 with the public launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Since then, rivals like Google and Meta rushed to release their own models and collaborate with businesses to customise generative AI solutions to meet specific needs.

The industry is now seeing generative AI tools move from experimentation to production, following several years of hype within the industry, said Google Cloud regional managing director for solutions and technology Mitesh Agarwal in a keynote presentation.

The locally headquartered start-ups, which were picked from several hundred applicants, presented wide-ranging uses for AI, such as apps to speed up content creation, crunch data and manage resources, for users in sectors like energy, finance and F&B.

Lytehouse’s video analytics tool is designed to improve existing surveillance systems for security teams and building operators, allowing users to tell a generative AI-equipped chatbot what the systems should monitor and alert them to, its co-founder and chief executive Natalie Doran told The Straits Times.

The AI, which can interpret the images it receives from a CCTV feed, can be programmed to notify users of the most urgent events on-site, ensuring they stay focused on the most critical issues, she said.

Most of the firm’s clients are based in South Africa, she said, adding that the start-up is working with regional retailers to deploy the technology here.

Similar technology has been implemented by the police in their surveillance cameras, using video analytics software to detect anomalies such as fights or sudden crowding, and to highlight events or suspects through simple search bar prompts.

Atlas, another tech start-up, built an AI-enabled program used by the likes of food chains Guzman y Gomez, Haidilao and Killiney Kopitiam to help outlets manage sales and logistics.

Using generative AI, the platform can organise the sequence in which food items should be served, to ensure that starters come first and desserts are served last, easing the load on waiters.

Aimed at content producers and advertisers, an AI platform by local start-up Kookree converts still images or text-based prompts into animated videos to help creators generate short clips more efficiently.

Another media-focused platform, called Eklipse, uses AI to quickly edit long videos into short clips for platforms like TikTok and Instagram. The AI identifies key moments and seamlessly compiles them into short-form content, popular among video game streamers and e-commerce sellers.

AI has also been deployed for use in fraud detection. Built for asset managers, regulators and auditors, Transparently.AI’s software analyses financial reports and other documents from listed companies to spot signs of fraud.

“The AI looks at case studies over the past 30 years, so it understands the patterns associated with manipulation,” said Transparently.AI chief executive and co-founder Hamish Macalister, adding that the software seeks to improve the accuracy of monitoring and investigations and make recommendations for auditors.

Google Cloud is accepting 35 start-ups for its second run of the accelerator programme. A similar campaign has been launched for small and medium enterprises too, to use Google’s suite of generative AI workspace tools at a subsidised rate.

Source: Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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