Eye on AI - June 7, 2019
Welcome to Aigora's "Eye on AI" series, where we round up exciting news at the intersection of consumer science and artificial intelligence!
It was a relatively slow week of AI-related news for consumer scientists, except for one company - Amazon - who made the news no less than four times!
First, in just one of many moves that Amazon is making as it develops its direct-to-consumer marketing capabilities, L'Oreal announced they will provide Amazon with augmented reality (AR) support for online make-up sales through their recent acquisition "Modiface." According to Reuters,
"The contract goes beyond make-up tests solely for L'Oreal's own brands, which include Maybelline and Lancome, but is limited to lipsticks for now. The companies did not provide any financial details. The service will launch in the United States and Japan in mid-2019."
This news is especially noteworthy given Amazon's recent launch of "Belei," a line of beauty and skincare products.
Up next for Amazon is a new attempt to provide AI-based recommendations for clothing. According to MIT technology review,
"Announced at Amazon's AI and robotics conference re:MARS 2019, the tool lets you upload photos and screenshots of clothes and accessories you like. It then uses machine-learning algorithms to match them to similar items on Amazon."
Data analytics are a strength of Amazon's, of course, so we'll see how this current attempt to leverage this strength plays out in practice.
The third and fourth bits of Amazon-related news this week both involved robotics, first in the sky and then in the warehouse. For starters, Amazon announced their intention to begin testing 30-minute drone-based deliveries in the next few months. Watch this video for more:
As for the warehouse, the MIT technology review argues that Amazon's most impressive technological progress is happening behind the scenes.
Okay, enough about Amazon. Robotic farming was also back in the news, with The Guardian publishing a fascinating review of five different robotic farming companies and with the Indian publication, "The Hindu," reporting on the use of machine learning by Indian coffee growers.
Finally, under the umbrella of the internet of things (IoT), Malibu Rum announced a summer program called the "Connected Bottle," which seeks to increase consumer engagement through the use of near field communication (NFC) and QR codes. According to BevNet:
"Consumers who scan the QR code or tap the NFC tag are directed via a quick link URL to an interactive mobile game where consumers can play for a chance to win Malibu branded swag and also gain exclusive access to cocktail recipes and more."
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