Computer Vision Spearheading AI Productivity In 2024, Says Latest Research

Average productivity gains of 42% over three years predicted but potential barriers are a lack of skills and in-house knowledge.

Munich, Germany. 18^th April 2024 – Adoption of Computer Vision technology, powered by AI, is at a tipping point and set to power productivity across a range of industry sectors, according to the latest research commissioned by Panasonic Connect Europe. On average, decision-makers predict a productivity increase of 42% in the three years following deployment. The manufacturing industry anticipates the biggest boost with increases in productivity as high as 52%.

Computer Vision is the field of artificial intelligence that enables computers and systems to derive meaningful information from digital images. It is the “eyes of AI”, observing, identifying, classifying, tracking, and ultimately interpreting images into usable “knowledge” that can be further interrogated by humans or by complementary AI.

Wide variety of applications

Respondents report that Computer Vision technology is being used across a wide variety of business departments and applications. Practical activities such as repairs and maintenance, production line monitoring, and quality control slightly outweigh use in security and health and safety. Applications in logistics and supply chain are popular, along with real-time projection mapping and people tracking, demonstrating the broad scope of use cases relevant to Computer Vision tech.

Available skills a barrier to deployment

The biggest barriers to deploying the technology were a lack of external specialist support (37%) and maintaining computer vision knowledge in the business (33%). Businesses are also highly sensitive to the potential ethical concerns of deploying AI-powered Computer Vision applications. The largest concern being data security (35%), closely followed by personal privacy and surveillance concerns, lack of corporate guidance and fears for job replacement – all level at 32%.

Wider AI deployment surging ahead

Looking at the wider adoption of Generative AI, the momentum is clear. Overall, more than two-thirds (67%) say that using generative AI is important to their business. More than one-third of respondents (37%) have already implemented a solution and are seeing benefits. A further third (34%) are in the planning stage or the process of implementing the technology. 17% are still thinking about it, but only 13% say they will not deploy Generative AI at all.

"The research shows clearly that Computer Vision technology is not just a concept but a present reality that is already steering businesses towards significant productivity and operational gains. Organisations across all sectors that are not yet in the planning stages of deployment are in danger of falling behind. There is also a clear need for specialists, such as Panasonic, to assist businesses in understanding how to deploy this technology effectively and responsibly."

The independent research, carried out by Opinion Matters and commissioned by Panasonic Connect Europe, surveyed 300 senior decision makers responsible for digital transformation and AI/computer vision implementation, working in companies with an annual turnover of 50 million+ Euros across Germany and the UK.

A full copy of the research executive summary can be downloaded here