Butler Robots and Video Annotation

We are all familiar with virtual assistant technologies, such as Amazon Alexa and Google home. These smart speaker systems allow users to make to-do lists, check the weather, play music and podcasts and control other smart devices remotely. These devices offer convenience and functionality to users and as a result they have become commonplace in many homes.

Increased mobility is the next step for virtual assistant technologies. To achieve this developers are creating a new generation of robots for home use. These so-called butler robots will combine the capabilities of virtual assistants with the flexibility and adaptability of autonomous vehicles.

This blog will first look at the useful applications that these devices will enable. Then, we will show why computer vision AI is essential for these applications to succeed. And finally we will suggest ways in which professional image and video annotation providers, like Keymakr, can support the continued development of this technology.

Robots that help at home

Butler robots are able to accomplish a variety of simple, but important, tasks. These devices should make day to day living more convenient and safer:

• Navigation: The main advantage of robot butlers over static virtual assistant systems is their ability to move safely around the home. Robot butlers can construct a virtual map of a living space and move around it to complete assigned tasks.
• Delivering objects: Robots can be used to deliver small objects from one part of the house to another. For example, this might include drinks and food, tools, or electronic devices. This capability may be useful when multiple family members are working in a busy household.
• Keeping an eye on vulnerable family members: Butler robots can help families care for elderly or otherwise vulnerable individuals. Users can instruct these devices to check on family members using on board cameras.
• Checking on appliances: Thinking that you might have left the stove on or an iron plugged in can cause stress and anxiety. Butler robots can remedy this by using extendable cameras to check the status of appliances. Above all, this functionality makes homes and people safer.

Computer vision capabilities are a necessity

The exciting use cases detailed above are made possible, in part, by computer vision. AI helps butler robot programs to recognize people and things in real-time:

• Facial recognition: Knowing who is in the house makes butler robots more secure and functional. Facial recognition allows butler robots to identify individuals and load personalised features. Additionally, it can be integrated with other home security apps as part of an overall home security system.
• Object recognition: In the future robot butlers may be capable of a range of more complex household tasks. In order to achieve this reliable object recognition is essential. Machine learning enables computer vision models to interpret images and locate target objects.

Data annotation services can help this technology to progress

In short, computer vision is transforming virtual assistant technologies and making butler robots a reality. However, the further success of machine learning powered AI models is reliant on access to effective and precise training datasets. Keymakr is an annotation service with core strengths that support developers:

• Responsive troubleshooting: Crowdsourced image and video annotation can be cheap, but it can also lead to complications when things go wrong. Keymakr has an in-house team of annotators that work with experienced managers. As a result communication is easier and troubleshooting is more efficient.
• Video annotation: Keymakr is a specialist in video annotation. This demanding labeling task requires a large investment of time and labour to accomplish. So Keymakr’s annotation tools smartly allocate and share video annotation jobs, allowing projects to stay on schedule.
• Verification: Keymakr uses three levels of human verification in addition to an automated quality control check.

Contact a team member to book your personalized demo today.