This is part two of our NYU Data Future Lab series. To read part one, please click here.
For our CDS students who are interested computer vision, spatial technologies, and urban space, there are career opportunities available at two more exciting start ups at the NYU Data Future Lab.
4. Carmera
A major problem with Google Maps today is its inaccuracy: it has a tough time keeping up with rapid urban changes, especially in cities like New York where stores and restaurants open, close, or move multiple times over the course of a year.
How can we use new technologies to produce better maps? Enter Carmera, the world’s only 4D, real-time index of city streets. Key to their technology’s success is partnering with delivery fleets and trucks. Carmera attaches specialized cameras and sensors to the delivery fleets as they run up and down the city streets. As they receive or drop off packages throughout the day, they also help Camera collect real-time, detailed data about the areas.
Carmera’s rich spatial data can also verify, assess, track, and quantify, and predict trends about the areas that it covers. For example Carmera can assess whether an area’s architecture is becoming more environmentally friendly, or predict whether there will be more SUVs on the streets in the next six months. Carmera’s powerful 4D maps are also an asset for architects and engineers who need to gather accurate details about surrounding buildings and infrastructure.
While surveillance technologies today are often viewed with suspicion, can we harness their power for social good? A major area where surveillance can help communities is securing the safety of residential buildings and spaces. Using advanced computer vision technologies that can identify animals, cars, people, and objects, OWAL uploads surveillance footage online onto a cloud video platform for residents to view. Aside from protecting the residential space, OWAL’s detailed computer vision technology is so advanced that it can alert residents when there is a parking space available, a package at the door, or if there is a violent altercation occurring.
Crucially, OWAL’s ‘community camera’ approach raises awareness of residential space while protecting individual privacy. Residents can only view the cameras that are relevant to their own floor or surrounding areas, every resident can see when and how frequently their neighbors have viewed the same footage, and the data gathered is only preserved for three years overall.
by Cherrie Kwok