Meet Our CTO: A Q&A with JD Falcão

AiFi: Hi JD! Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us today. Congratulations on the award win.

JD: Thank you! It's an honor to be recognized for something I am deeply passionate about. 

AiFi: What was your vision for AiFi when you first started? How has it evolved over time?

JD: Our vision for AiFi was to create a future where AI would improve every facet of the physical world and was as readily available as WiFi, which is what inspired the name “AiFi” – pronounced “eye-fy” like “WiFi”.

We found that through applying our solution to power autonomous checkout we could quickly impact people’s everyday lives and solve an immediate point of friction with AI. 

AiFi: AiFi is entering new markets with its spatial intelligence technology – can you tell me more about that?

JD: Spatial intelligence is essentially our ability to navigate and interact with the physical world. It's that intuitive understanding that tells us, for example, that we need two hands to carry a heavy object. We use this intelligence constantly to understand our surroundings, but replicating it in machines is a significant challenge for AI.

At AiFi, we’ve taken our superior camera vision technology and created a real-time representation of physical space, a digital twin, and layered analytics on top that help our clients with actionable insights that help them understand how people are moving through and interacting with their space. 

This type of intelligence is critical to AiFi; we operate in the physical world. So our main focus as a technology company has been and will continue to be to advance AI to understand the physical world.

AiFi: How does AiFi’s approach to autonomous shopping differ from other companies in the market?

JD: AiFi takes a fundamentally different approach to autonomous shopping by prioritizing AI's understanding of the real world's complexities. We recognize that no two stores are identical and have built their technology to adapt to this variability. This adaptability allows us to serve diverse retail settings, from small convenience stores to large stadiums and grocery stores. 

Instead of forcing retailers to modify their store layouts or install specialized hardware, AiFi focuses on teaching its AI to understand the context of the environment first. Then, we apply the simple logic of "who picked up what?" This focus on AI-driven understanding, rather than environmental control, sets AiFi apart.

AiFi has always focused on developing AI to understand the physical world, knowing that the world is not 'standardized’ and that every store is unique.

AiFi: How do you see spatial intelligence, AI, and autonomous shopping technology evolving in the retail space over the next 5-10 years?

JD: We're already seeing the power of large AI models like ChatGPT, demonstrating human-level performance on certain tasks. I believe spatial intelligence is key to bringing the physical world into the digital realm. This opens up vast possibilities for digital applications built upon this understanding, with autonomous checkout being the most obvious example.

In the next decade, I predict a decrease in manual data entry and other informational tasks in physical retail. Autonomous shopping will become so commonplace it will simply be "shopping." Significant investments in AI and computing power will further democratize this technology, making it increasingly accessible to the average consumer.

AiFi: Can you discuss any upcoming features or improvements that you’re particularly excited about?

JD: I’m particularly excited about the advancements AiFi has implemented at the Intuit Dome and their potential for wider adoption. 

Traditionally, "frictionless" stores often required customers to tap, scan, or otherwise interact at the entrance. This tapping and scanning still creates a point of friction.

At the Intuit Dome we have deployed systems that allow you to enter and shop without ever stopping at the entrance. This gets us closer to today’s experience of shopping and makes it easier for shoppers to transition to this great new experience.

AiFi: What's your vision for the future of retail, and how does AiFi fit into that picture?

JD: I see a future where physical retail not only survives but thrives alongside the continued growth of e-commerce. The key differentiator will be the ability of brick-and-mortar stores to leverage data and actionable insights to enhance the in-store experience. 

AiFi is poised to be a crucial partner for retailers, providing the technology and tools they need to gain a deeper understanding of their physical operations, from the sales floor to the back office and throughout the supply chain.