Specialty Fabrics Review March 2024 - 28

AI-generated boat graphics critiqued
R
ick Collins, ATA's IT director, experimented with having ChatGPT-4
create text descriptions of the best fabric boat biminis and then
feeding the result into artificial intelligence (AI) graphics generators.
We sent all the trials to Bailey Brayton of BC Marine Canvas in Rhode
Island for a professional review. Midjourney at first gave some results
that Collins noted were lackluster. Collins then input the same prompt to
program DALL-E 3 and got somewhat
better images, though Brayton says that
one result, the top photo presented here,
still looks " very impractical, unless it's a
wrapped hard top-or maybe like a sports
car with a removable T-top? "
Collins also asked ChatGPT to
" describe an innovative marine fabric
project. " It came back with a paragraph
description of a " smart bimini, " which
was then fed into Midjourney to create
additional images. Brayton called the
resulting AI-generated designs " mostly
impossible. " There was promise in one
of the four generated, though (middle
image), so Collins had the program
create additional variations of it.
Barring the fact that some of the
images show the poles " attached " to the
water, Brayton saw some possibility for
inspiration in the final photo set (bottom).
" Some of the mounting spots, like the
windshield or the handrails, wouldn't be
nearly strong enough to hold the tension.
The first one is too big; the poles couldn't
support it either. The bottom right one
is interesting, though. It kinda looks like
an aft enclosure bimini, but it would be
quicker to put up, extend a little farther,
and it would give it a lot of airflow. Maybe
a nice alternative to a camper enclosure
in a hotter climate. Overall, most of them
either aren't possible or practical. It's a
really fun thought experiment though,
and it could be a good way to get some
creative ideas flowing. ... My favorite
ideas that I got out of those images would
be very experimental, and you'd have
to find a customer who'd be on board
with it. Otherwise they'd be some fun,
challenging projects. "
The bimini result from DALL-E 3.
28 SPECIALTY FABRICS REVIEW / March 2024
Writing the custom software with
ChatGPT took about 40 minutes and
cost less than a dollar. "
To help his customers understand
the Earth Grip designs, which are
based on soil profiles, Doyle also used
ChatGPT and Midjourney to generate
a graphical view of soil composition.
He used ChatGPT to write a program
that turns the typical profile data into
a depth chart graphic.
He's also been using Midjourney
for his websites and marketing
projects. According to Doyle, the
images generated today are more
detailed and accurate than when he
first started, and he believes they will
continue to get better with time.
" There's a real cost savings, " he
notes in the forum, " because for $10
per month you can generate limitless
images you can use commercially.
There is a learning curve to the
platform, but it's not too difficult. Quite
often it takes a few attempts to get a
usable image. "
Despite his wide adoption of AI
The " smart bimini " generated image
that showed some promise.
tools, Doyle acknowledges their current
limitations. He warns that users need
to be discerning about any content
generated with ChatGPT. They may
need to edit the text of a marketing
email to put it in their own voice or
otherwise polish the text generated. But
when it comes to customer service, he
feels that a real human is the way to go.
" AI is not for everyone, " he notes
in a post. " It's an advanced form of
problem solving and, quite simply, a
lot of people already have their main
problems sorted out. But for those who
are trying to do more with less, then AI
is a wonderful tool that can help you
do just that. "
The final set of four " smart bimini "
images generated. Images: Rick Collins
NOT JUST A PRETTY PICTURE
Bailey Brayton, manager of BC Marine
Canvas, a family business in Warwick,
Specialty Fabrics Review March 2024

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