Hands-On Multimodal RAG Images, Tables & Text



AI Summary

Summary of Video: Building a Multimodal Retrieval System

  1. Introduction
    • Most current systems for retrieval augmented generation are text-based.
    • Real-world documents contain multimodal data (text, images, tables).
    • The video demonstrates building a multimodal rack system to process text, images, and tables.
  2. Traditional Approach
    • In classical systems, documents are chunked into text, and images/tables are parsed.
    • Captions are generated using vision language models (VLMs), leading to potential data loss.
  3. Proposed Workflow
    • Introduces Poly, which allows for direct processing of images as part of the indexing process.
    • Discusses Cohair’s Embed V4, a multimodal embedding approach that produces state-of-the-art results without losing context.
  4. Cost and Implementation
    • Embedding sizes range from 512 to 1536 dimensions and can be quantized to reduce costs and storage requirements.
    • Quantization of embeddings preserves performance while lowering resource consumption.
  5. Embedding Process
    • Images are converted to embeddings and stored in a vector store.
    • User queries are embedded, and results retrieved using cosine similarity.
    • Highlights the need for a strong vision language model like Gemini for responding to queries based on visual content.
  6. Examples of Questions
    • Demonstrates how the model processes complex queries using infographics (e.g., showcasing Nike’s profits).
    • Shows the model’s reasoning capabilities over visual data.
  7. Local Solutions
    • For users preferring local solutions, mentions the Call Pony for setting up a vision-based retrieval system without proprietary APIs.
    • Promotes using Local GPT for a fully local solution, combining open-source and proprietary models where preferred.
  8. Conclusion
    • Emphasizes the importance of multimodal retrieval systems in enterprise search.
    • Suggests the potential for significant advancements in retrieval techniques.

Key Takeaways

  • Multimodal systems can enhance the understanding and processing of complex data such as images and tables.
  • Explore advanced techniques for embedding and retrieval to improve system performance.