Manufacturers and educators saw computer vision in action during a recent pop-up class at the University of Georgia’s Price Industries Innovation Factory.
The free class, “Computer Vision: From Pixels to Practical Applications,” was led by postdoctoral research associate Sayed Alireza Vaezi and offered a practical understanding of how modern visual AI tools can be used on the factory floor or in a classroom setting to teach the technology.
The Price Industries Innovation Factory is part of Georgia AIM’s Project 3, which includes the Georgia AIM Mobile Studio and a suite of hands-on technology vignettes designed and built by the lab. The computer vision class was the first of its kind offered by the Price Industries Innovation Factory, and it brought together manufacturing employees and STEM/CTAE educators for an immersive evening of applied AI learning.
Attendees began with the core building blocks of computer vision, exploring how images are captured, processed, and analyzed. From there, the group moved into deep learning fundamentals, including how convolutional neural networks enable tasks such as image classification, object detection, semantic segmentation, and generative modeling. These concepts came to life in a live lab session where participants activated a pretrained neural network directly on a handheld device — demonstrating, in real time, the potential of embedded vision systems for quality control, safety, and automation.
“I enjoyed getting to work with industry leaders to learn more about what is needed in the workforce as I prepare my students,” said one of the educators who attended the workshop. “I also enjoyed the hands-on time to work with the tools.”
The course reflected the lab’s broader mission within Georgia AIM: to create accessible, practical pathways for manufacturers and educators to engage with advanced technologies. In addition to developing the technology vignettes used on the Mobile Studio and in stand-alone demonstrations statewide, the lab delivers technical outreach to help manufacturers and educators better understand AI’s industrial applications.
Each participant left with a take-home embedded vision kit, allowing them to continue exploring computer vision concepts. Attendees from across manufacturing sectors and area high schools and career academies underscored the growing demand for applied AI learning opportunities — something Georgia AIM’s Project 3 is helping to deliver to communities across the state.