Zero vs Speck

A zero-shot object counting app is an app that counts objects without the need to specify what to count. Just present an image, and the app automatically identifies visually similar objects in the image and counts them. This is enabled by an innovative architecture consisting of a ViT-based encoder and a convolutional decoder, capable of extracting features from image and turning it into a "heat map" where each object is represented by a dot. Conventional methods are then used to count the dots in the "heat map". Note that this app only provide a rough estimation of the object count. Estimations may be inaccurate or incorrect. Do not rely on the results.

Stop counting one by one. Photograph the pile, tap a single object, and Speck marks every match it finds with a numbered dot — then you fix the stragglers with a tap. HOW IT WORKS 1. Take a photo, or pick one from your library. 2. Tap one of the objects. That shows Speck what to count. Add a second or third example if they vary. 3. Tap Count. Every match gets a numbered dot, with a running total underneath. Speck finds most of them on its own. Missed one? Tap it to add a dot. Marked something that isn't there? Tap the dot to remove it. The total updates as you go, so the number you save is one you have checked yourself — not one you have to take on trust. WHAT PEOPLE COUNT WITH IT • Pills and tablets in a tray • Eggs, seeds, seedlings and produce • Screws, bolts, nuts and fixings in a bin • Rebar ends, pipe stacks, planks and log piles • Coins, beads, buttons and craft supplies • Bricks, blocks and tiles on a pallet • Stock on a shelf, at stocktake time MORE THAN A CLICKER • Frame part of the photo to count only what is inside it. • Split that frame down the middle or into a grid, and get a separate count for every cell. • Shrink the dots when you want to see what is underneath them. • See a warning when a photo is too crowded to trust at a glance, so you know when to check the dots. • Use the flash in dim store rooms. • Name a count — "Tray 3, blue caps" — and find it again in your history. • Reopen a saved count later to move the frame or fix a dot. • Share the marked-up photo, so the next person can see exactly what was counted. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Counting runs on your iPhone's Neural Engine. Your photos and your counts stay on the device and are never uploaded. Speck needs an internet connection once, on first launch, to finish setting itself up — after that it counts with no connection at all. No account. No ads. No subscription. WHAT IT IS GOOD AT — AND WHAT IT ISN'T Speck works best on a group of objects of a similar size and shape, photographed straight on and close enough that each one is clearly visible. Dense, overlapping or wildly uneven piles are harder: it will miss a few, or dot the same thing twice. That is exactly what the tap-to-fix dots are for. Speck is not a replacement for your own eyes — it is a fast first pass that gets you most of the way in a second, so you only have to correct the rest.