Curf, founded by Johan Nulens and Stefan Jacques, emerged from a shared vision to revolutionize quality control and anomaly detection using synthetic image generation technology. Their journey began when they met at KLA in 2021, where they collaborated as freelance software engineers. Stefan had been developing the concept of synthetic image generation for years, and after working together for six months, it became evident that their partnership was a perfect match. Thus, Curf was born on October 26, 2022, with both Stefan and Johan holding equal shares in the company.
Curf’s mission is to provide advanced solutions for quality control and anomaly detection across various industries, including aerospace, automotive, agriculture, and manufacturing. Their technology, Synigen, generates realistic synthetic images that enhance existing quality control systems by overcoming challenges such as the lack of labelled data, especially prevalent in small batch productions like aerospace manufacturing. By providing up-to-date and functional quality control systems, Curf aims to streamline operations, reduce human errors, and improve redundancy, particularly beneficial for the aerospace sector.
The space connection of Curf’s technology is multifaceted. Firstly, it offers significant value to the aerospace sector by enabling the automatic detection of defects and anomalies in aircraft components, thus enhancing the quality control process. Secondly, Curf’s technology can be applied to in-orbit anomaly detection for satellites and spacecraft, improving reaction speed and reducing the impact of anomalies. Lastly, in the context of long-duration space exploration missions to Mars and the Moon, Curf collaborates with companies like SmartKas to develop AI-controlled systems for crop cultivation. By integrating synthetic data with anomalies, Curf contributes to early anomaly detection in space agriculture systems.