Artificial intelligence has progressed in leaps and bounds within the past decade. Generative AI systems like ChatGPT and DALL-E 2 are taking the internet by storm, and an increasing number of manufacturing warehouses are turning to AI-powered robots to replace mundane or dangerous human tasks. AI is sure to become a mainstay of almost every industry, but for now, we're only just beginning to see what's possible.
The minds behind some of the leading sciences are talented software engineers like Wenbo Zhang, a software engineer specializing in AI and Robotics who has made a habit of building products from the ground up.
"I am passionate about startup culture-moving fast and being agile," says Zhang. His experience certainly reflects this, as Zhang has managed to achieve a BE in Engineering, an MSE in Robotics, a role as a founding software engineer at Greyscale AI, and an AI software lead position for Marchant Schmidt all in just a few short years.
While earning his Master's studying Robotics at UPenn, Zhang worked on two different research projects outside of his coursework. The first was centered around multi-robot motion planning, which required Zhang to plan a path for robots in a 2D environment so that they could move from point A to point B without any collisions.
This first project inspired his master's thesis, which he wrote about deformable object prediction. Because deformable objects (such as ropes and clothes) are much harder to predict when moving, Zhang designed a prediction framework to accurately predict future states in 10 steps. The paper he wrote based on this work was accepted by ICRA 2021, earning him an Outstanding Research Award from the School of Engineering and Applied Science.
Upon graduating from UPenn, Zhang joined a startup named Greyscale AI as a founding software engineer. The company is building solutions to inspect food products for foreign materials such as bones and metals. Zhang's job is to develop computer vision algorithms to detect these foreign materials using X-Ray images. "I led the computer vision component in the software," says Zhang. "I was fortunate to be responsible for building the whole deep learning pipeline from end to end."
The company serves large and mid-size food manufacturers like Nestle, Lamb Western, and Sargento using technology developed by Zhang. His work on the end-to-end deep learning pipeline has also earned him a tremendous amount of practical experience. What's more, he has even filed a patent with the company's founder on an inspection scoring method.
As an AI software Lead at Marchant Schmidt, Zhang has a larger scope and responsibility to lead multiple projects. "I handle 3D cloud point processing and volume measurement, object rotation using a closed-loop feedback control system, surface foreign material detection, and material handling using the robotic arm," says Zhang. "I enjoy working on challenging projects and applying AI to revolutionize the food manufacturing industry."
In addition to his roles as an AI software engineer at Greyscale AI and Marchant Schmidt, Zhang is an angel investor and venture scout with UpHonest Capital and Eastlink Capital.
"I use my technical knowledge to empower investment decisions," says Zhang. "I have analyzed deals in AI, Robotics, and Enterprise SaaS. I have done deal sourcing, deal analysis, and market size analysis. I have also worked with a cloud software listing startup on its go-to-market strategy."
Zhang's experience as a venture scout, his research, and his work with GreyscaleAI and Marchant Schmidt have made him well-positioned in the software engineering field, and with such a rich history of experience both in and out of academia, we are sure there will be a lot more to see from Wenbo Zhang in the future.
