A breakthrough in machine learning takes music analysis to a new level
Live music is complex and unique to each musician – making it often difficult to classify its genre. Yet new machine learning technology from product design and development firm Cambridge Consultants is outperforming human brainpower when it comes to identifying different musical styles in this most challenging of circumstances.
The breakthrough opens the door to a new generation of multimedia information retrieval systems – providing a sophisticated method of organising and searching music databases. But it could be equally applicable to detecting faults in an industrial system or rapidly assessing patient health from sensor waveforms.
To put its machine learning system to the test, Cambridge Consultants had a pianist play a variety of music – covering baroque, classical, ragtime and jazz genres – in a live demonstration. Applying complex algorithms, the system then searched for different influences and assessed the likely genre in real time. It overwhelmingly outperformed conventional hand-coded software, painstakingly written by humans.
“Machine learning is at the core of a new wave of artificial intelligence applications limited only by our imagination,” said Monty Barlow, director of machine learning at Cambridge Consultants. “We’re working at the cutting edge of machine learning research and development, developing systems that can apply complex algorithms to big data and ‘learn’ autonomously – without explicit programming.”
Cambridge Consultants’ unique approach involves the creation of what it calls a ‘digital greenhouse’ – an environment where machine learning can flourish. The more strains of models it can grow, the more it can understand where the richest pickings are to be found – beyond the confines of ordinary software development methodologies. The company has an on-site facility with many teraflops of dedicated compute power, where its data scientists and engineers are engaged in long-term machine learning programmes.
“The team is sweating state-of-the-art compute resource to assess new algorithmic hopefuls against long-standing commercial and industrial challenges, such as optimising the deployment of cellular infrastructure or detecting anomalies on a manufacturing line,” said Barlow. “But the digital greenhouse approach doesn’t stop at delivering client projects. It’s an experimental approach that engages the spare time and creative inspiration of our smartest minds, who know they’re working at the frontier of a vital, transformative industry.”
Cambridge Consultants develops breakthrough products, creates and licenses intellectual property, and provides business consultancy in technology-critical issues for clients worldwide. For more than 60 years, the company has been helping its clients turn business opportunities into commercial successes, whether they are launching first-to-market products, entering new markets or expanding existing markets through the introduction of new technologies. With a team of more than 900 staff, including engineers, scientists, mathematicians and designers, in offices in Cambridge (UK), Boston (USA), Tokyo and Singapore, Cambridge Consultants offers solutions across a diverse range of industries including medical and life science, industrial and energy, consumer and retail, and communications and infrastructure. For more information, visit: www.cambridgeconsultants.com
Cambridge Consultants is part of Capgemini Invent, the innovation, consulting and transformation brand of the Capgemini Group. Capgemini Invent helps CxOs envision and build what’s next for their organisations. Located in more than 30 offices and 25 creative studios around the world, its 7,000+ strong team combines strategy, technology, data science and creative design with deep industry expertise and insights, to develop new digital solutions and business models of the future.
Capgemini Invent is an integral part of Capgemini, a global leader in partnering with companies to transform and manage their business by harnessing the power of technology. The Group is guided everyday by its purpose of unleashing human energy through technology for an inclusive and sustainable future. It is a responsible and diverse organisation of 270,000 team members in nearly 50 countries. With its strong 50 year heritage and deep industry expertise, Capgemini is trusted by its clients to address the entire breadth of their business needs, from strategy and design to operations, fueled by the fast evolving and innovative world of cloud, data, AI, connectivity, software, digital engineering and platforms. The Group reported in 2020 global revenues of €16 billion.
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Cambridge Consultants develops breakthrough products, creates and licenses intellectual property, and provides business consultancy in technology-critical issues for clients worldwide. For more than 50 years, the company has been helping its clients turn business opportunities into commercial successes, whether they are launching first-to-market products, entering new markets or expanding existing markets through the introduction of new technologies. With a team of 750 staff, including engineers, scientists, mathematicians and designers, in offices in Cambridge (UK), Boston (USA) and Singapore, Cambridge Consultants offers solutions across a diverse range of industries including medical technology, industrial and consumer products, digital health, oil and gas, and wireless communications.
Cambridge Consultants is part of Altran, a global leader in engineering and R&D services which offers its clients a new way to innovate. Altran works alongside its clients on every link in the value chain of their project, from conception to industrialisation. In 2016, the Altran group generated revenues of €2.120bn. With a headcount of more than 30,000 employees, Altran is present in more than 20 countries. For more information, visit www.Altran.com.