Micro-interview with Fabio Clabot, CEO of Small Pixels
Presspool: “Small Pixels is a recently established company but is rapidly making an impact in the sector. What was the idea behind the project?”
Fabio Clabot: “Small Pixels was founded in 2020 as a spin-off from the University of Florence. From the outset, our mission has been to
translate cutting-edge academic research into practical solutions for video optimisation, using artificial intelligence and neural networks. We identified a unique opportunity to enhance the visual experience globally, reduce costs, and overcome traditional technical barriers.”
Presspool: “Your company stands out for using pre-trained neural networks. How do these technologies enhance video streams?”
Fabio Clabot: “Our neural networks have been trained since 2020 with a highly extensive and diverse dataset in terms of content. They have learned about people, faces, cars, football pitches, and everything that surrounds us. We have also taught our networks how compression works. As a result, they can now analyse every frame of a video in real time, optimising its visual quality and preventing typical compression artefacts. And this is achieved without the need for high-performance hardware.”
Presspool: “What are the main industries benefiting from your solutions?”
Fabio Clabot: “Our clients range from broadcasting to gaming, video surveillance, sports, and telecoms, and this is just the beginning. Two particularly promising sectors are live aerial filming with drones and action cams, as well as remote production for live sports, where signal quality can make all the difference. Additionally, for existing content, we have seen excellent results in restoring historical archives and for OEM applications on chipsets.”
Presspool: “Digital sustainability is an increasingly important topic. How do your solutions align with this trend?”
Fabio Clabot: “Reducing the bandwidth required to deliver high-quality content is not only an economic advantage but also an environmental one. It means fewer infrastructure requirements, less energy consumption, and a smaller impact overall. Our goal is to combine technological innovation with sustainability.”
Presspool: “Optimisation occurs without disrupting clients’ workflows. How have you achieved this level of flexibility?”
Fabio Clabot: “We have designed our solutions to integrate seamlessly into existing video production workflows. Our technologies operate both upstream and downstream in distribution chains, requiring no changes to existing hardware or software. This approach has allowed us to be quickly adopted across various industries.”
Presspool: “How do you ensure your technologies adapt to the needs of such diverse markets?”
Fabio Clabot: “The key lies in the modularity of our solutions. Each neural network model we develop is specifically optimised for a particular context—whether live sports, gaming, general TV, or historical archive restoration. This allows us to provide targeted solutions while maintaining a common technological foundation.”
Presspool: “Have you encountered any significant challenges in implementing your technologies?”
Fabio Clabot: “One of the main challenges was convincing early clients of the effectiveness of our solutions, as artificial intelligence is still met with some scepticism in traditional sectors. However, once we demonstrated real-world results—and you only need to visit our website (https://www.smallpixels.ai) to immediately see the differences—trust grew exponentially. The simplicity of implementation, without requiring workflow changes, has been a key factor.”
Presspool: “What does the future hold for Small Pixels? Are there any new projects in development?”
Fabio Clabot: “We are working on new applications based on machine learning and deep learning to further enhance visual processing. Moreover, we are exploring opportunities to integrate our technologies into mobile devices, video codecs, and next-generation TVs to deliver an even more immersive user experience. We are only at the beginning of our journey, and the possibilities are immense.”
###
Synopsis
Small Pixels, a spin-off of the University of Florence, merges academic research and technological innovation to revolutionise the audiovisual sector. Leveraging artificial intelligence and pre-trained neural networks, the company delivers solutions that enhance video quality while reducing costs and environmental impact. From gaming and live video to revitalising historical archives, Small Pixels’ technologies are finding applications across multiple industries, optimising workflows without requiring structural changes. CEO Fabio Clabot shares the company’s vision, challenges, and future developments in this cutting-edge enterprise.
Tags:
#SmallPixels #ArtificialIntelligence #VideoOptimisation #NeuralNetworks #DigitalSustainability #VideoTech #StreamingVideo #MediaInnovation #DigitalTechnology #Broadcast #VideoProduction #Archives #VideoDistribution #Surveillance
INFO: https://www.small-pixels.ai
© 2024 Small Pixels – Presspool PressOffice RobertoLandini
