New Faculty Seeks to Improve Visual Analysis Systems

After co-founding his own tech company, one of the School of Computer Science’s newest faculty members is making the transition from industry to academia. 

Francisco Romero completed his Ph.D. in electrical engineering at Stanford University in 2023. His dissertation explored how to make video search easy, fast, and cost-efficient.

Collaborating with members from his Ph.D. lab, Romero turned his dissertation into a startup. Plix is focused on building intelligent body cameras, and Romero continues to serve the company as an advisor.

“I’m ultimately trying to bring these real-world challenges to the research realm, tackling them, and bringing them back to that commercial space so they can be used to improve technology used for safety, security, and efficiency,” he said.

At its core, Romero’s research focuses on developing large-scale and real-time visual analysis systems that span different kinds of technology. 

“Today, there is an opportunity to use large language models (LLMs) to perform much more complex analysis over visual data,” he said. “However, wearables and the edge have limited resources, which makes it challenging to provide a real-time experience while performing the complex analysis.”

Romero said he has always been passionate about research, teaching, and mentorship.

“It’s something I’ve always been passionate about, driven by, and wanted to do since I entered graduate school,” he said. “I’m here because I want to spend my time doing those things, and I’m also excited about the research component having a real-world connection."

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What interests you about working at Georgia Tech?

Georgia Tech’s diverse mix of faculty and staff fosters a creative and dynamic environment—both in research labs and classrooms. The city of Atlanta enhances this atmosphere, especially with its growing tech scene.

What will your research include?

My research lies at the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI), systems, databases, and edge computing. I’m particularly focused on visual analytics and developing AI-enabled wearable and edge-cloud systems that are fast, cost-efficient, and user-friendly.

What first caught your interest in this field?

Visual analytics initially emerged as a side project during graduate school, but quickly became the core of my research. Interestingly, my father spent countless hours reviewing video footage in his roles with the DEA and as an investigator for the State of Alaska. That personal connection inspired me to co-found Plix, an AI body camera company.

What are you most looking forward to in your new position?

I’m excited about the daily interactions with students, faculty, and staff. I thrive on brainstorming and whiteboard sessions, witnessing students’ “aha” moments, and watching ideas evolve into tangible hardware and software systems.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

Together with my wife, I enjoy playing and watching nearly every sport, as well as going on long runs through scenic, nature-filled trails. I also love exploring new restaurants—my Atlanta dining queue is already quite long!