Cortexica "find me similar" visual search prototype
Lead Participant:
CORTEXICA VISION SYSTEMS LIMITED
Abstract
Many online retailers are looking at ways to develop a more interactive and engaging user experience to help customers discover products and recommendations. An ideal scenario for a user is to be able to use their mobile phone to capture images of interesting Retail products such as ladies clothing from wherever they happen to be, and from that image find similar or exact items for sale on the web.
By creating a visual search capability and specifically designing an app that has “find me
similar” functionality, a user could quite simply “snap and match” items of clothing and then be guided on a journey of discovery and recommendation that both inspires and encourages a purchase.
This Prototype Proposal sets out to prove that a mobile visual search function can work
successfully by allowing users of the mobile app to select an image they may have or capture from the “wild” to initiate a search for an item. We wish to investigate the accuracy and efficiency of such a system, and the integration points necessary with the current volume flow of images and user inquiries so we could design a solution that fits seamlessly into an ecommerce platform and delivers the end user experience.
Cortexica Vision systems have spent the last 7 years developing patented algorithms which have been released in a number of early adopter applications. We are now ready to develop a larger prototype. Our biggest client to date is a large US online retailer who is innovating with our technology but wants to see it working as a prototype scale before being fully convinced.
This grant application will provide the funds to do BETTER and FASTER R&D necessary in make progress with our existing customer, but also give us the wherewithal to seek MORE customers. There are a number of challenges, technical and UI-related, along the road to making this vision of “find me similar” become reality, however we believe there is a significant business opportunity which this grant will help leverage.
By creating a visual search capability and specifically designing an app that has “find me
similar” functionality, a user could quite simply “snap and match” items of clothing and then be guided on a journey of discovery and recommendation that both inspires and encourages a purchase.
This Prototype Proposal sets out to prove that a mobile visual search function can work
successfully by allowing users of the mobile app to select an image they may have or capture from the “wild” to initiate a search for an item. We wish to investigate the accuracy and efficiency of such a system, and the integration points necessary with the current volume flow of images and user inquiries so we could design a solution that fits seamlessly into an ecommerce platform and delivers the end user experience.
Cortexica Vision systems have spent the last 7 years developing patented algorithms which have been released in a number of early adopter applications. We are now ready to develop a larger prototype. Our biggest client to date is a large US online retailer who is innovating with our technology but wants to see it working as a prototype scale before being fully convinced.
This grant application will provide the funds to do BETTER and FASTER R&D necessary in make progress with our existing customer, but also give us the wherewithal to seek MORE customers. There are a number of challenges, technical and UI-related, along the road to making this vision of “find me similar” become reality, however we believe there is a significant business opportunity which this grant will help leverage.
Lead Participant | Project Cost | Grant Offer |
|---|---|---|
| CORTEXICA VISION SYSTEMS LIMITED | £385,198 | £ 173,000 |
Participant |
||
| THE TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY BOARD | ||
| IMPERIAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND MEDICINE |
People |
ORCID iD |
| Martin Wilkinson (Project Manager) |