Artificial intelligence (often shortened to AI) has become a standard for some companies and even for users. The progress that has been made throughout just the last decade has been extremely rapid and ever-growing, so much so that there is high demand for new AI products or services. 

AI is essentially human intelligence that is mimicked by machines wired to have intellect the way we do. Their thought patterns and behaviors are completely simulated, but are carried out exactly the way a human would. 

Products and services that are either run or aided by artificial intelligence seemed like an impossibility at a time not that long ago, but recent developments, workers, and technological advancements have made it much more possible and actually very real. 

Some products that use AI that you might be familiar with or even have in your own home include smart assistants, self-driving cars, and robots like the familiar smart vacuum, Roomba. 

What gives these products the ability to perform the functions and tasks that they do is the engineering of artificial intelligence. By loading tons of data and using machine learning to, in a sense, “teach” these products or services how to think like a human, artificial intelligence becomes possible. 

In this article, we’ll walk through some of the top AI startups here in Pittsburgh, highlighting what they’re doing and who is involved to nurture your curiosity and stay up to date. As the demand for AI rises, so does the number of AI projects that are taking flight. 

Here’s a quick glance at the start-ups we’ll cover in this article:

• UXAX
• Argo
• AGOT
• Idelic
• Roadbotics
  

Artificial Intelligence Start-Ups in Pittsburgh

There are several promising and exciting projects blooming out of the Pittsburgh area. 

This section provides a list of some of the more recent AI start-ups in the Pittsburgh area. Each of these promote and promise a product or service that relies on artificial intelligence and makes it easy to do certain things without the need for human interaction. 

1. UXAX
   

UXAX is a Pittsburgh-based marketing agency that uses data analytics and top business strategies to enhance user experience. In collaboration with their team of analysts, data scientists and designers, they have a strong ability to accurately and quickly solve any problem that heads your direction, allowing you to come out on top and succeed more than you thought possible.

Some of the services that UXAX can provide using data analytics and AI include:

• Improving user experience: Using data analytics, UXAX can audit the areas that have weak spots and need reorganized to put the best practices forward and enhance user’s experience 
• Data cleansing: “Sorting out” your data makes it more presentable and easier to follow, enabling quick decision making 
• Salesforce: With the use of the best business practices and relying on the hard date, UXAX can turn good leads into actual sales
  

UXAX’s use of artificial intelligence in their services enables them to provide a reliable and consistent positive experience and success rate for their clients, promising a high success rate and vast improvement.

2. ARGO

Argo’s artificial intelligence centers around self-driving technology. Argo is a self-driving technology platform company. Through the construction of both software and hardware, as well as maps, Argo aims to implement self-driving capabilities into cars so that human drivers no longer need to drive themselves to work, rely on services like Uber or Lyft to take them somewhere, or rely on food delivery services to get food delivered to their homes. Instead, Argo’s technology will make these services more widely available and therefore easily accessible. 

Here’s some of the ways that Argo’s technology is created:

• Robotics: Argo’s extremely knowledgeable team takes their extensive experience in robotics and artificial intelligence to create technology that allows for self-driving capabilities
• Tight Integration and Attention to Detail: Argo prides itself on its detail-oriented and extremely focused approach with everything they work on, especially when it comes to safety, which is relevant and crucial in regard to AI work and their self-driving cars
• Strong Infrastructure: With Argo’s solid and self-created infrastructure, there is no room for mistakes or shortcomings, and the self-driving cars they manufacture are nothing short of quality

With artificial intelligence and the skillset of Argo’s team, their self-driving cars promise top notch safety and convenience. Their ultimate goal is to make driving more enjoyable, giving drivers more freedom in their cars while relying on the AI aspects of their car to get them where they need to go, much more reliably and safely than if a human was driving themselves. 

3. AGOT

AGOT uses artificial intelligence as the root and driving force of their product, which is a smart computer platform designed for businesses in the restaurant or food industry. The system has the unique and useful ability to organize labor (which, in turn, makes labor more speedy and efficient) as well as ensure accurate and swift delivery of supplies. AGOT’s system is also designed to stop order errors in their tracks, which creates less out of stock issues and ensures timely deliveries. 

Here’s how it works:

• Hardware: The implementation of cameras allows for easy installation and use of the system as a whole
• “Kitchen Display Systems:” Created to alert workers of any errors or conflicts as soon as they occur, reducing room for error and delays in deliveries
• Data Analytics: AI’s powerful analytical abilities are crucial to the functions of AI, and AGOT has this down, using labor and pacing analytics to drive operation speeds up and make for a smoother experience overall
  

The powerful AI technology that AGOT boasts in their product makes for a much more reliable and convenient experience for users, promising accuracy and convenience that wouldn’t be possible with AI’s abilities and their team’s gifts in putting artificial intelligence hardware to good use. 

4. Idelic

Idelic’s AI mission centers on helping driver management efforts for truckers or tractor-trailer vehicle operators. Recognizing the complexities of keeping track of drivers, especially during busy time periods, as well as emphasizing the safety hazards truck drivers face on the job, Idelic aims to create a platform that keeps track of trucker data and allows safety teams to work more efficiently and proactively to prevent accidents. The artificial intelligence based system is what allows the platform to work so accurately. 

Here’s what Idelic’s system ultimately does:

• Prevents Truck Accidents: With the use of AI and machine learning, Idelic’s system takes several decades worth of data to help predict and identify the most at-risk drivers for a potential accident, alerting early and allowing safety teams to respond well in advance
• Turnover Rates Reduction: Proactively identifying safety issues for truck drivers in addition to expert performance management programs, employees feel more protected and cared for than those who lack the technology to intervene and keep their drivers safe
• Lowers the Cost of Insurance: The AI system’s reliability and accuracy creates a significantly lower possibility of accidents, ensuring that the entire operation of safety is efficient and working properly as well as ensuring that the best insurance rates are bought
  

Idelic’s implementation of AI permits their systems to directly benefit every person involved in fleets and the trucking business, from the safety teams, to the directors, all the way to the drivers themselves, there is a benefit from Idelic’s system. Ensuring that the drivers are protected every step of the way and promoting money saving strategies that rely on AI’s analytical abilities makes Idelic a promising and reliable system.

5. Roadbotics

Roadbotic’s powerful software uses AI’s data skills and reliability as the root of their product. Their goal is to assist governments and communities to make the smartest and most objective decisions about their roads infrastructure. These decisions, as Roadbotics' mission enforces, should be based on factual data analyzed by AI technology. The system automates road inspections to swiftly and accurately spot any issues, like potholes and road deterioration, consequently saving time, money, and energy from potentially disastrous dangerous situations.

Here's how Roadbotic's system works:

• 5-Level Rating System: Using a 1 to 5 scale, the system rates roads based on their condition to prioritize what needs addressed the most
• Imagery with MetaData: Hi-res photos that feature much detail are taken at every 10 foot section of a road, even including timestamps
• Pavement Condition Data: The ratings data is compiled and organized through AI technology to create pavement management strategies 
  

The system that Roadbotic created masterfully applies the benefits of AI into their technology, allowing communities to be proactive and easily on top of any conflicts and safety issues within their road and travel systems. This in turn saves money and time for workers and residents alike, as the reliance on data leaves no room for error. 

The technological advancements of the 21st century have made artificial intelligence possible, and the creativity and gifts of those who implement AI into their products and services have changed the world for the rest of us. AI makes it much more easy and convenient for daily operations to take place, while making these processes significantly safer, more reliable, and definitely impressive.