Technology evolves fast – to stay on top of it and to be part of the conversation you have to evolve with it. At Intelligent Systems we leverage advances in Machine Learning, Autonomous Systems, and Computer Vision to tackle the biggest, most exciting, and most pressing problems in industry. The ideas we develop today lay the foundation for the technologies of tomorrow. This process isn’t always easy, but we believe it’s worth it!
“Sometimes the work is messy, sometimes it’s hard, but when ideas come together and theory becomes practice, it’s always rewarding.”
– Chris Harrison, Research Technician
Creation and invention is tricky business; you have to stay abreast of the latest and greatest industry trends and constantly be searching for ways to connect disparate ideas. This often means long days of looking through literature, reviewing the latest scientific breakthroughs, conducting research, testing ideas, proving concepts, and designing prototypes. So why go through all that trouble? Because this is what it takes to play the game. We do what we do because we don’t just want to stay caught up with the latest trends, we want to have a say in where the future of technology goes.
Our passion, our research
Why we do what we do
“Hard work will keep you alive, but curiosity allows you to thrive.”
– Daniela Rodriguez, Principal Investigator and Lead Researcher
Some folks like fishing, others like skiing. We get our kicks from tackling new problems and pursuing the lifelong learning that accompanies the pursuit of innovation. We do what we do because we thrive on our curiosity. We are innovators at heart and believe that innovation happens at the intersection of a wide variety of fields. This means curiosity is invaluable in what we do. You have to keep your eyes open if you want to spot the rich veins of research opportunities that snake between disciplines.
Many of us started out in different fields. Our backgrounds range from biochemistry, to aerospace engineering, to even anthropology, but we’ve all found our way into the Intelligent Systems group, because we’re fascinated with what Machine Learning, Computer Vision, Data Science, and algorithms in general can achieve. There is so much potential for growth, and so many exciting problems, we just couldn’t stay away. (P.S. we like skiing and fishing too)
Our people, our strength
“A team can turn a brainstorm into a brain hurricane, but only the right team can make sense of the aftermath.”
– Stoian Borissov, Data Scientist and Project Lead
We each bring something to the table, we each fill a gap. Where an individual may be myopic and see only a narrow sliver of the world, together our vision is enhanced. The wide variety of our personal and professional backgrounds means that every time we come together to discuss a new idea or open problem in industry, there is an opportunity to learn from each other. Sometimes this means there are disagreements, but this is a good thing! Ideas are challenged and debated, but mutual respect, a pinch of humility, and the desire to seek truth go a long way to ensure we work as a healthy and effective unit.
Our process, our capabilities
“The world can be a confusing and complicated place – sometimes your best isn’t good enough – that’s where iteration comes in.”
– Ankit Agarwal, Engineering Specialist
Innovation is hard. It’s easy to think you’re smart and have things figured out when you don’t have skin in the game. But when you put your name to an idea and put it out into the world and leave yourself vulnerable to criticism and to feedback – that’s when you really start to figure things out. When you have to face the harsh reality of market pressures and customer needs, passion is not enough. You need commitment and competence, paired with a healthy dose of contextual awareness if you want to bridge the rift between idea and product. Understanding the context of how our work fits in with the industry’s state-of-the-art, customer needs, and market trends is key situational awareness which is critical for taking ideas to the next level.
Luckily, when we’re in the early stages of research and development we can leverage agile iteration to great effect. This means lots of experimentation and lots of prototyping, and it’s all about building the best tools for navigating the chaos of innovation. As someone once said, “Chaos is a ladder”, and they may have been talking about politics but it rings true for research and experimentation too. And you need the right tools and processes for climbing the chaotic ladder of innovation.
Our product, our value
“If you don’t understand your customer, you don’t understand anything.”
– Sue Park, Business Development and Market Research
You have a vision. You plug away at it, trying out new ideas, testing out little proofs of concept, and toiling the hours away. Slowly it starts to take shape. You share it with others – first colleagues, then friends, and eventually potential customers. You iterate and investigate, you find out what’s true and what isn’t. Many of your original ideas get scrapped, but not all… you’ve found some diamonds in the rough. You continue working, then you clean things up, excise the unnecessary fluff and scaffolding, and what’s left? Hopefully something brilliant!
If you’ve done your job right, the market and industry will agree with you. It’s by no means a perfect science, but we do our very best to understand where we can provide maximal value. We’ve found great success applying our development efforts to problems in Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Security, in Navigation and Tracking, and in Health and Life Sciences. When we first started off, we didn’t know this is where we’d end up, but customers spoke, and we listened. Over the years we’ve gained significant traction in these domains, and we strive to continue adding value by developing ideas and products that get straight to the heart of our customers needs and desires.
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