Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
What happens when you take AI out of the lab and deploy it in the Australian outback? Join Microsoft MVP Daniel Brown live from the opal fields of Coober Pedy, South Australia, as he explores how OpalAI was built to use artificial intelligence to help identify opal-bearing material during mining operations. Using OpalAI as a real-world case study, we'll explore the journey from collecting and preparing field data through to building an AI solution with Microsoft Azure, integrating AI into an application, and deploying it in a challenging real-world environment. We'll examine the practical engineering challenges that emerge outside controlled environments, including changing lighting conditions, dust, camera positioning, false positives, confidence thresholds and model improvement. The session will culminate in a live field demonstration, running material through OpalAI from an active opal claim in Coober Pedy to see whether AI can identify potential opal in real time. Developers will leave with practical lessons for designing, building and deploying AI applications that connect software, AI and the physical world, together with Microsoft resources for continuing their learning.
What happens when you take AI out of the lab and deploy it in the Australian outback? Join Microsoft MVP Daniel Brown live from the opal fields of Coober Pedy, South Australia, as he explores how OpalAI was built to use artificial intelligence to help identify opal-bearing material during mining operations. Using OpalAI as a real-world case study, we'll explore the journey from collecting and preparing field data through to building an AI solution with Microsoft Azure, integrating AI into an application, and deploying it in a challenging real-world environment. We'll examine the practical engineering challenges that emerge outside controlled environments, including changing lighting conditions, dust, camera positioning, false positives, confidence thresholds and model improvement. The session will culminate in a live field demonstration, running material through OpalAI from an active opal claim in Coober Pedy to see whether AI can identify potential opal in real time. Developers will leave with practical lessons for designing, building and deploying AI applications that connect software, AI and the physical world, together with Microsoft resources for continuing their learning.
