Food Safety Is Getting Safer Thanks To Wenbo Zhang And GreyscaleAI

In Partnership with APG

In 2019, the US Department of Agriculture cited foreign material contamination as the number 1 reason for food recalls in the nation. Simply browsing the USDA’s webpage for recalls and public health alerts will result in dozens and dozens of articles about foreign materials found in hot dogs, packaged meat, and more. In an effort to keep the public safer and reduce expensive product recalls, food production companies are investing in more advanced detection technologies. 

Wenbo Zhang, a founding software engineer at GreyscaleAI, designed computer vision algorithms to detect foreign materials using X-Ray images. GreyscaleAI is a quickly growing startup that is advancing food safety technology and improving screening results. By identifying the presence of foreign materials before food products are distributed, GreyscaleAI helps its clients avoid sending contaminated products to their customers. 

As Wenbo’s first startup experience, GreyscaleAI has given him the opportunity to wear multiple hats, solve complex challenges, and use technology to make the world a better place. He has always been inspired by the possibilities that are brought to the forefront because of technology, but even more so, he’s inspired by the prospect of tackling challenges that have a long history of outsmarting the smartest humans. As a society, we are way too advanced to continue being plagued by pieces of metal or machinery in our food, and finally, GreyscaleAI – with Wenbo’s help – is creating an effective solution to a challenge that has continued for far too long.

Wenbo uses a Basler camera to capture the highest-quality images available and relies on his well-designed data collection plan to ensure that the algorithm is familiar with a variety of defects in the images taken by the camera. His model has achieved a 95% accuracy rate in semantic segmentation and a 90% IoU rating for all classes. His time at GreyscaleAI has been the perfect way to apply the learnings from his formal education and individual research projects.

Prior to GreyscaleAI, Wenbo spent years studying in undergraduate and graduate programs, developing his own algorithms, and conducting research that won awards in the computer science space. Although he loves academia and considers himself a lifelong learner, Wenbo is incredibly passionate about the startup space. Technology should be used to solve persistent problems, and every day, startups pop up that are solving problems people have been dealing with for years.

Many startups are technology-focused, just like GreyscaleAI, and they need outstanding software engineers to bring their vision to life. For Wenbo, connecting technical solutions with the problems at hand is almost as natural as breathing; he enjoys the design process, but is even better at building models and algorithms, ensuring that no errors are made in the process. As an angel investor himself, Wenbo knows what investors are looking for in startups, and he uses that knowledge internally, helping GreyscaleAI stay competitive in the food safety space.

Taking on a new challenge, Wenbo started working at Marschant Schmidt as the AI software lead. As a food equipment manufacturing company specializing in cheese manufacturing, Marschant Schmidt relies on Wenbo to uplevel their inspection techniques using computer vision, deep learning, 3D cloud point processing, and robots. Accurate cheese inspection and advanced cutting solutions can help reduce food waste and prevent foodborne illnesses. Although cheese production is an ancient art, using new technologies, it has gotten even better!

Featured Image sourced from Shutterstock