Microsoft AI: Intro to Computer Vision AI with Labs & Sims

Discover how AI turns images into useful information with a focused beginner course based on Microsoft's official curriculum, enriched with additional explanations and practical guidance. Taught by a Microsoft Certified Trainer, this course includes a guided Microsoft Foundry computer vision simulation, a Foundry lab exercise, two learning exercises, an optional computer vision exercise, and two quiz walkthroughs. Whether you want to understand image analysis for business applications or strengthen your understanding of these AI-901 topics, you will build a clear foundation in Microsoft computer vision.

Begin with the main computer vision tasks: image classification, object detection, semantic segmentation, and contextual image analysis. Learn how computers represent images as arrays of pixels and how filters help extract visual features. Explore convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and vision transformers (ViTs), including the roles of feature maps, image patches, embeddings, and attention.

Explore how multimodal models combine images and language to interpret visual content. Examine image generation and the basic idea behind diffusion models, then connect these concepts to image analysis and generation in Microsoft Foundry. The course also introduces Azure vision capabilities such as image captions, visual tags, optical character recognition (OCR), face detection, and video analysis, along with an introduction to content understanding.

Connect the technology to business needs through examples in healthcare, manufacturing, and retail. Consider responsible AI and ethics in computer vision, including fairness, privacy, and the effects of bias. These lessons help you evaluate potential uses of vision systems alongside their limitations and impact.

Reinforce your understanding with learning exercises on computer vision concepts and computer vision in Azure. Explore the optional computer vision exercise, follow the guided simulation to get started with computer vision in Microsoft Foundry, and work through the Foundry lab exercise. Two quiz walkthroughs and a concluding summary support your review. The guided simulation offers a way to explore the workflow without an Azure subscription; the live cloud exercises require access to the relevant Azure or Microsoft Foundry environment. Review each activity's requirements before following along.

Across three sections and 19 video lessons, with approximately 1 hour and 57 minutes of video, this course provides a manageable introduction for beginners, students building foundational AI knowledge, and professionals exploring computer vision in business solutions. Basic computer skills are a useful starting point. By the end, you will be better prepared to explain common vision workloads, compare key model approaches, and recognize appropriate uses of computer vision in Azure and Microsoft Foundry.