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Vision SDK - Document Processing Pipeline

Status: Partially shipped — the core VLM SDK already exists today (src/gaia/vlm/, VLMClient with Qwen3-VL-4B-Instruct-GGUF; see the VLM SDK). This document describes the broader unified document-processing pipeline still on the roadmap. Timeline: Q2-Q3 2026 Vote with 👍

Executive Summary

A comprehensive Vision Pipeline SDK for document processing, OCR, and structured data extraction. Consolidates fragmented vision capabilities across GAIA into a unified, developer-friendly API. Value: Transform any document (medical forms, legal logs, technical manuals) into structured, searchable data using VLM-powered OCR—100% locally on AMD hardware. Impact: Reduce vision agent code by 60%, enable document automation workflows, power legal/medical/technical document processing.

The Problem

Fragmented Vision Capabilities

Current state:
  • Image processing duplicated across agents (EMR has 400+ lines of boilerplate)
  • No unified document processing API
  • Vision capabilities scattered across llm/, vlm/, rag/, utils/
  • Each agent reimplements the same patterns
Missing features:
  • No multi-page document processing
  • No table extraction from documents
  • No visual element extraction (charts, timelines)
  • No structured extraction with flexible schemas
  • No seamless RAG integration
Impact:
  • Developers write 400+ lines for basic vision tasks
  • Cannot process large legal documents (1,200+ pages)
  • Technical manuals require manual preprocessing for RAG
  • Each vision agent starts from scratch

The Solution

Vision SDK - One API for All Documents

Key capabilities:
  • Multi-page processing (1 to 1,200+ pages)
  • Table and visual element extraction
  • Handwriting recognition (validated, production-ready)
  • Structured data with flexible schemas
  • Batch processing and multi-document detection
  • Seamless RAG integration
  • Agent mixin for vision-powered tools
  • Production-ready with checkpointing and parallel processing

Use Cases

Medical Forms (EMR Agent)

Extract patient data from intake forms with validation.
Impact: EMR agent code reduces from 1,500 → 600 lines (60% reduction)
Process multi-page driver logs with timeline charts and violation detection.
Impact: Automate $$$+ legal expert analysis work

Technical Manuals (RAG Q&A)

Index operations manuals for accurate Q&A.
Impact: Enable precise answers from complex technical documents

Batch Receipts (Expense Automation)

Process multiple receipts and generate expense reports.
Impact: Expense reporting automation, receipt digitization

Business Cards (CRM Integration)

Extract contact information for CRM import.
Impact: Networking automation, contact management

ID Cards (KYC Compliance)

Identity verification for compliance and onboarding.
Impact: KYC automation, age verification, identity fraud prevention

Bank Statements (Financial Analysis)

Extract transactions for accounting and reconciliation.
Impact: Accounting automation, expense tracking, reconciliation

Handwritten Forms & Notes

Digitize handwritten content with high accuracy.
Impact: Form digitization, note-taking automation, historical document preservation
Validated: VLM handwriting recognition performs well on real-world forms. Included as core capability.

Architecture

Module Structure


Implementation Milestones

M1: Foundation (1 week)

  • Core architecture
  • Image preprocessing (EXIF, resize, optimize)
  • Basic single-page OCR
  • Document/Page models

M2: Structured Extraction (1-1.5 weeks)

  • Multi-page support
  • ExtractionSchema with validation
  • Progress tracking
  • Deliverable: EMR agent refactored

M3: Tables & Visuals (1.5-2 weeks)

  • Table extraction
  • Visual element extraction
  • RAG integration
  • Deliverable: Driver logs prototype, manual RAG indexing

M4: Optimization (1-1.5 weeks)

  • Parallel processing
  • Checkpoint/resume
  • Production performance
  • Deliverable: Full 1,200-page driver logs processing

M5: Superset (1.5-2 weeks)

  • Advanced analysis tools
  • Report generation
  • Specialized processors
  • Deliverable: Complete SDK

Success Criteria

  • ✅ EMR agent refactored with 60% code reduction
  • ✅ Process 1,200-page documents successfully
  • ✅ Table/visual extraction working (70%+ accuracy)
  • ✅ RAG integration seamless
  • ✅ 95%+ test coverage
  • ✅ Production-ready performance

Dependencies

Required:
  • VLMClient (Qwen3-VL-4B-Instruct-GGUF)
  • Lemonade Server
  • PyMuPDF (PDF processing)
  • PIL/Pillow (image processing)

Vote on this plan: GitHub Issue #325
Last Updated: February 9, 2026