FLIR Announces Investment in CVEDIA

Sensor developer FLIR Systems Inc. has invested in CVEDIA Pte. Ltd., a developer of machine learning applications that enable sensor systems with A.I.

The strategic investment by FLIR in CVEDIA will create opportunities for the companies to accelerate the development of thermal spectrum-based deep learning training tools for use by FLIR and selected partners in integrating A.I. into FLIR sensors and systems. FLIR’s advanced thermal imaging sensors are used in automotive, military, and industrial applications. The investment will also provide CVEDIA with growth capital to enable the expansion of its business.

“This investment in CVEDIA will enhance our ability to innovate sensing solutions that enable our customers to more quickly and accurately make their mission-critical decisions,” said James Cannon, president and CEO of FLIR. “The addition of software algorithms that automatically inform a user or system of critical information is a valuable feature that augments the distinctive and rich data our sensors produce. We see wide applicability of these tools in our innovation of highly advanced solutions, and we look forward to the collaboration with the CVEDIA team.”

CVEDIA’s SynCity simulator software tool provides realistic, multimodal digital environments for autonomous system OEMs and related sensor makers to train their systems in a faster, safer, and more affordable manner than by using traditional data collection techniques. CVEDIA has developed SynCity to feature real-world physics; simulate a multitude of lighting and environmental conditions; and render objects such as people, animals, and automobiles in a manner that A.I. systems interpret as real and lifelike, producing high-quality data sets that are fed into customer neural network frameworks, materially shortening the time and easing the process of training these deep learning systems.