Image technology that identifies objects in a picture and automates their ecommerce marketing has just got smarter.

The opening of NAB in Las Vegas brought the release of ML automation for the SourceSync.io platform.

Source Digital is working with Prime Image to add machine learning to its platform. Video content analysis and optimisation specialist Prime has added AI to automatically index metadata and highlight objects for which Source can then provide "intuitive and instant discovery experiences" on smartphone, tablet, computer and traditional TV.

The company says the partnership will allow content owners to activate an object within content, apply marketing/monetary detail and make it accessible for a viewer to learn about it or purchase it. The Source platform activates, monetises and translates content, with Prime providing the framework to identify and track usable data, without needing to stage every instance of metadata frame-by-frame.

Source Digital chief executive Hank Frecon says the technology presents a new alternative to a traditional advertising model.

Auto-indexing of real-time metadata allows more effective object-tracking and immersive activations, and can intuitively identify where an object is on the screen, across devices.

AI capabilities are powered by Prime's VideoContent Analysis engine takes the labour out of creating and updating content metadata. "Having rich and extensive content metadata dramatically improves the ability for content owners and their brand sponsors to provide a rich viewing experience while also driving significantly increased revenue from their content monetisation initiatives," Prime Image chief executive Michael Mayfield says.

A first user is new Motor Crazed Network an enthusiast-based OTT platdform aimed at the auto aftermarket. Chief executive David Leach says simply identifying a 1972 Ford Mustang was not enough: "We need to be able to tailor the experience in a way that ranges from helping the viewer find parts nearby, to a potential full-blown campaign that speaks to the viewer's automotive passion," he says.

Pictured (from top left): Original, indexed and activated images