Donate To Keep OpenCV Free To All, Impact Summit Day 2, and We're Live This Thursday

Greetings from San Francisco to wherever you are in the world. In this edition of the OpenCV Newsletter you'll find out: How to watch the new episode of OpenCV Live all about the new HiFi 3D camera from Tangram Vision, how the important OpenCV crowdfund campaign is going, how to attend day 2 of the free Impact Summit virtual event from Hackster.io, a look at how AI and computer vision are changing retail, and more.

OpenCV Crowdfund Campaign Update

We're 2 weeks into our 45-day campaign to raise the $500,000 we need to keep OpenCV free to everyone. We know $500k is not a small thing to ask- but we're asking because it is what we need to not just pay the core developers who will produce OpenCV 5 but to ensure that we can do it the Open Source free-access way as we always have.

If we can't meet this goal, OpenCV will have to consider other means of funding, such as a commercial license. At OpenCV we believe in Open Source and free sharing of knowledge, but so 289 amazing community members have donated to raise $36,712 and while we are thankful to those donors the reality is we need much more. Here's how you can help the campaign, even if you can't afford to contribute financially:

• Sign Up To Volunteer: Fill out the volunteer application form, and let us know how you can help with the campaign. Thank you to the 70+ who have already signed up to volunteer! The more the merrier!
• Sign Up To Contribute: Visit our campaign page, enter your email, and contribute to the campaign to fund OpenCV 5 development when we launch. Every contribution, no matter how big or small, makes a difference.
• Spread the Word: Share this exciting news with your developer networks, on social media, and within your community. Help us reach a broader audience passionate about computer vision.
• Send Us Cool OpenCV Projects: OpenCV is used everywhere, and we want to start featuring YOUR projects in the newsletter and elsewhere. If you've made or found a cool usage of OpenCV, fill out the Cool Projects form to tell us about it!

We can't stress enough how important this campaign is to the future of OpenCV but to all open source computer vision and AI. We need to prove that open source, non-profit, organizations can operate without closing off our greatest innovations behind a pay wall. We hope you'll continue to help.

Support OpenCV

OpenCV Live: HiFi, The New Tiny 3D Camera For Your Biggest Ideas

Fresh off their own campaign launch on Kickstarter, Tangram Vision join the show to tell us all about the new HiFi 3D Sensor. The Tangram team have tons of experience with 3D sensing hardware and this first model boasts from impressive specs and use cases.

Date & Time: November 16th, 9am (Pacific Timezone)

Topic: HiFi, the new 3D camera from Tangram Vision

Guest: Adam Rodnitzky, Brandon Minor (Tangram)

Duration: 1 Hour

Watch along to learn more, participate in the live questions session, and play trivia to win a Tangram HiFi sensor!

Attend on Zoom

Other ways to watch this Thursday:

Today: Day 2 of Impact Summit

You’ll get an in depth look at how technologies like machine learning, advanced data analytics and IoT in the field are transforming the ways in which infrastructure, public services and essential facilities are maintained in urban environments and learn how engineers around the world are leveraging tech solutions to develop more resilient and sustainable cities in their local communities.

Attend Day 2

A Look at AI In Retail

On the OpenCV.AI blog, a new post titled "Computer Vision in Retail: Cashier-less Stores" was just published. AI Software Developer Anzhella Pankratova takes a look at how the retail sector is evolving with the help of artificial intelligence and computer vision, leading to the development of stores without cashiers. Read it today for some unique insights.

Read Now

OpenCV AI Competition Final Submissions Due Nov. 30th

This year's edition of OpenCV AI Competition is nearing the final submission deadline of November 30th. All teams are required to submit a PDF that includes your process and results as well as a short video that demonstrates your work. Best of luck to all who are participating!

Wrong Answers Only: Other Ways To Fund OpenCV

As our campaign to keep OpenCV free continues, we thought it’s time to introduce some fun to the proceedings. Today we’re asking an important question: What other ways should we pursue to fund OpenCV? Instead of giving standard reasonable answers, we want your silliest Wrong Answers Only. OpenCV CEO Dr. Satya Mallick posted this query to LinkedIn over the weekend, and we’ve already got some laughs. Here are a few of our favorites:

• Satya Mallick: "Keep the library free. Make the documentation paid."
• Fabian Rosenthal: "Make OpenCV randomly use RGB or BGR unless you pay for it."
• Philipp Grosenick: "Freemium license, library is free as long as you use grayscale. Color channels require monthly subscription."
• Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez: "Anti-Freemium license. Pay when not using it."
• Nile Dixon: "All images created with OpenCV are stored on the blockchain as NFTs."

We hope these tickled your funny bone and gave you some inspiration for your own Wrong Answers. Send us your funny ideas as a comment or quote post on your social media platform of choice (see ours on LinkedIn, Twitter, Mastodon) and don't forget the #FreeOpenCV hashtag.

Looking for Computer Vision and AI Consulting?

Discover how the world-class CV and AI solutions of OpenCV.AI, a consultancy from many of the core OpenCV members, can elevate your business by visiting their website at OpenCV.AI, or viewing their online portfolio.

That's all for now. Have a great week!

– The OpenCV Team

• Support Our Crowdfund Campaign for OpenCV 5
• Follow OpenCV on the Fediverse
• Follow OpenCV on Twitter/X @OpenCVLive
• Subscribe on YouTube
• Sponsor OpenCV on Github
• Join OpenCV AI Competition 2023
• Join the Official OpenCV Community Slack Server