Google's Visual Inspection AI spots defects in manufactured goods

Google today announced the launch of Visual Inspection AI, a new Google Cloud Platform (GCP) solution designed to help manufacturers, consumer packaged goods companies, and other businesses reduce defects during the manufacturing and inspection process. Google says it's the first dedicated GCP service for manufacturers, representing a doubling down on the vertical. It's estimated that defects cost manufacturers billions of dollars every year -- in fact, quality-related costs can consume 15% to 20% of sales revenue. Twenty-three percent of all unplanned downtime in manufacturing is the result of human error compared with rates as low as 9 percent in other sectors, according to a Vanson Bourne study. The $327.6 million Mars Climate Orbiter spacecraft was destroyed because of a failure to properly convert between units of measurement, and one pharma company reported a misunderstanding that resulted in an alert ticket being overridden, which cost four days on the production line at £200,000 ($253,946) per day.