Artificial Intelligence Giant SenseTime Moves Further Beyond Facial Recognition Systems With New Initiative in Manufacturing Sector

SenseTime, a Hong Kong-based software business that operates the world's biggest artificial intelligence (AI) platform, is expanding beyond face recognition systems by extending its technology to the car components manufacturing industry.

The company, which went public in Hong Kong last December, announced on Monday the launch of an AI-enabled automated engine defect detection system in conjunction with SenseSpring - its proprietary industrial quality inspection training platform - for use by Beijing Foton Cummins Engine Co (Foton Cummins), the world's largest independent engine manufacturer.

According to SenseTime, this AI infrastructure enables Foton Cummins to detect surface and assembly defects in critical engine components, freeing workers from tedious manual quality inspection work. This marks a significant milestone in the Beijing-based company's adoption of intelligent manufacturing systems.

Foton Cummins is a joint venture between Beiqi Foton Motor Co and Cummins Inc, a maker of diesel engines in the United States.

The collaboration with Foto Cummins is anticipated to bolster SenseTime's credentials in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, more often referred to as Industry 4.0. This entails the automation of old production processes and the updating of industrial practices via the application of current smart technologies in order to assist businesses in increasing their efficiency and profitability.

This also enables SenseTime to compete with other Chinese technology behemoths. Baidu, for instance, established its own AI product assessment service in 2017, with clients including state-owned automakers Shougang Group and FAW Group.

China's fledgling industry inspection market reached US$142 million in 2020, with Baidu, Huawei Technologies Co, Alibaba Group Holding, and AInnovation leading the charge. The South China Morning Post is owned by Alibaba, an early investor in SenseTime.

SenseTime's current manufacturing endeavor comes months after the Biden administration sanctioned China's largest AI business for suspected human rights violations in Xinjiang.

The US Treasury Department accused SenseTime of creating face recognition systems capable of "determining a target's ethnic origin, with a special emphasis on identifying ethnic Uygurs." SenseTime has been put on Washington's investment blacklist, thereby prohibiting Americans from purchasing the company's stock.

However, investors shrugged off the uproar and fears about the impact of US sanctions, as the company rose more than predicted on its market debut. SenseTime's shares fell 2.38 percent to HK$6.55 on Monday.

SenseTime said in August last year that its huge AI platform may be used to power the intelligent cockpit and autonomous driving capabilities in up to 20 million automobiles over the next several years.

The firm, which was started by a group of professors at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, has partnered with 30 automobile manufacturers, including Japan's Honda Motor Co. and China's Great Wall Motors and Chery Automobile.