New York-based IMRSV has a successful product that is already making waves in helping businesses analyse the real-time characteristics of their customers. And it has established a presence in Singapore to further its research and market development in the multi-billion dollar industry.

IMRSV is the company behind Cara, an innovative ultra-light software that turns any camera into an intelligent sensor. “Cara provides the ability for enterprises to know their customers,” said Mr Steve Lubin, Director, Immersive SG Pte Ltd and Chief Operating Officer, IMRSV Inc. “Businesses personalise and adapt advertising, apps and more based on emotions, gender and age. Cara adds value to their customers based on who they are and what they like, in real-time.”

Cara scans faces up to 7.6m away and determines age and gender with around 90 per cent accuracy using a standard webcam. The technology can be used in stores, advertising and art exhibits. It is already installed on the wall of shoes at the back of the Reebok store on Fifth Avenue in New York City, where the store is using it to collect data on which customers are lingering at the shoe wall and which ones are leaving.

Cara measures three metrics – attention time, duration and glances.  It does not violate people’s privacy because it only tracks people in aggregate and it does not store images, only data. Besides retail stores, its other potential applications include billboards and vending machines.

According to Mr Lubin, there is a US$8 billion addressable market for retail analytics, media and advertising measurement and OEM (original equipment manufacturer) licensing of the Cara software platform.

“IMRSV’s model is based on human-centred design, understanding unique business rules and challenges, not just engineering and technical specifications,” he said. “We are a multi-disciplinary team with experience in computer vision, media research, mobile and cloud computing.”

The company’s Singapore office Immersive SG Pte Ltd, which began operations in January 2013, manages all its computer vision research and software development.

“It was a combination of factors that convinced IMRSV to set up operations in Singapore,” said Mr Lubin. The company was attracted to the accessibility of talent and competitive salary structure in Singapore, the advanced technologies, modern infrastructure and stable environment and the accessibility to regional markets including China, South Korea and Japan.

“Staff of IDA (Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore), both in Singapore and the United States, have been of great assistance in providing us with local resources in Singapore and helping us to navigate as we set up shop,” he added. “Also, IDA has been great at making business connections and introducing us to other companies which may have interest in our services.”

Another area where IDA assisted the company with was in recruitment. “IDA has been a tremendous resource as we were going through the staffing process in Singapore for the first time,” said Mr Lubin.

Currently, the Immersive SG has seven full time employees. The company plans to continue to build up its research and development team in Singapore and to begin to hire business development and sales staff to support strong interest in the Cara software platform in Southeast Asia. “We would expect the team based in Singapore to more than double over the next 12 to 18 months,” said Mr Lubin.

To other overseas start-ups looking to set up a presence in Singapore, Mr Lubin offered this piece of advice, “If you are going to relocate staff or set up shop in Singapore, it is very important that you leverage resources such as IDA. It is difficult enough to navigate a new country and even more cumbersome when you are a start-up with limited people and resources. The team at IDA helps you jump a lot of those hurdles.”