Tag: automation

Videos from re:MARS

I had a blast in Last Vegas at Amazon’s re:MARS Conference for Machine Learning, Automation, Robotics and Space. Below are some of the videos I recorded from the event. Hope you enjoy them!

Thank you Amazon for inviting Team Veryfi (my company) to attend this wonderful event! We had a blast, learnt a lot and rubbed shoulders with many smart folks.

Now onto the videos!

New Shepard (Blue Origin) Space Capsule Experience at #reMARS

Robert Downey Jr. at Amazon’s #reMARS in Las Vegas

Robert Downey Jr. appeared at Amazon’s re:MARS artificial intelligence conference in Las Vegas to entertain the crowd of engineers and scientist and make an awesome announcement. Robert, in true Tony Stark (aka Iron Man) fashion, announced Footprint Coalition to Clean Up the World With Advanced Tech.

Jeff Bezos Keynote Fireside Chat at #reMARS with Jenny Freshwater

Jeff Bezos and Jenny Freshwater (Amazon’s Director of Forecasting) speak on stage on June 6, 2019 at re:MARS conference for Machine Learning, Automation, Robotics and Space ran in Las Vegas (California).

New Drone from Amazon Launch at #reMARS

Unveiled at reMARS in Las Vegas (California), an Amazon conference for Machine Learning, Automation, Robotics and Space.

The NEW Amazon Prime drone with hybrid architecture to fly like a plane and hover like a traditional drone with propellers. Amazon Prime delivery on auto-pilot at light speed anywhere in the world (give or take ;-))

Boston Dynamics CEO demo’s Spot at #reMARS

Video recorded at reMARS Amazon’s conference for Machine Learning, Automation, Robotics and Space ran in Las Vegas (California). Boston Dynamics CEO Marc Raibert showcasing Spot, its first commercial robot.

SPOT

Spot is a small four-legged robot that comfortably fits in an office or home. It weighs 25 kg (30 kg if you include the arm). Spot is all-electric and can go for about 90 minutes on a charge, depending on what it is doing. Spot is the quietest robot we have built.

Spot inherits all of the mobility of its bigger brother, Spot Classic, while adding the ability to pick up and handle objects using its 5 degree-of-freedom arm and beefed up perception sensors. The sensor suite includes stereo cameras, depth cameras, an IMU, and position/force sensors in the limbs. These sensors help with navigation and mobile manipulation.

More about Spot: https://www.bostondynamics.com/spot

How Amazon Go AI sees customers engaging in store

Video from reMARS keynote explaining the challenges of computer vision at Amazon’s Go self checkout stores.

And finally we ended the week long conference with a big part put on by amazon at the Las Vegas Speedway.

Furrion Exo-Bionics Mech pulling Engine 3 Fire Truck at Amazon’s #reMARS in Las Vegas

This mech is powered by a human and his hands and legs. Strong enough to pull a Fire Engine! Engine #3 from Las Vegas Fire Department. Love it

Learn more about this mech: https://furrion.com/pages/exo-bionics

About Veryfi

Veryfi is automating bookkeeping, starting with automation of time & materials for architecture, engineering & construction (AEC) workforce. We help businesses of all sizes to get access to Veryfi’s intelligent and secure mobile apps to:

  • automate statutory tax obligations (recording of financial transactions, labelling & categorization),
  • improve job costing and
  • empower financial prosperity through business intelligence.

Learn more: https://www.veryfi.com

WebAnt Analytics – climb inside your customers mind

WebAnt was a holistic web analytics and automation service servicing corporate clients on the Australian market. WebAnt proved to be a competitor (at the time) to Red Sheriff (now Nielsen NetRatings) when the Australian market was not overcrowded with analytic tools. Overthrowing Red Sheriff as the web analytics provider of choice for MBF – Australia’s largest health benefit fund.

Our service offerings

  1. Web Analytics tools and reports ranging from the standard client analytic type to website overlays, dynamic component tracking, email blast tracking, trend reports to footprints (heatmaps) et al. There are then also some great MYSQL reporting tools that you can use like this one, it’s critical to get the best one so we strongly suggest you have a look into that reporting tool for MYSQL.
  2. Automation tools and reports to allow WebAnt subscribers to generate “phantom customers”. Then sending them interacting through subscriber http / https site and report back on findings. This proved to be the hottest and most value adding service add-on since it identified problems before they escalated / affected the larger online user community.

Automation in more detail

Automation plugin called InSite

Quick facts

Life span: 3 years.
Founder: 1 (me) + multiple outsourced contractors on a need basis.
Profitable: From the start – 20% in expenses and rest profits.
Why terminated: Google Analytics entered the market – hard to compete with free.

Some product screen shots

Trivial background history: WebAnt began its life as BlueArrow (logo below) which was built as a complementary offering to a web design business I and a former AMP colleague ran. The web design business was my 1st true business out of University. Former AMP executive management invested in BlueArrow and WebAnt was born with branding capabilities to allow anyone to resell the product.

Precursor to WebAnt

Top 5 things I learnt from this venture

  • You need to spend money in order to make money. Sometimes more than you are used to / comfortable with. This was my biggest fear (initially) since the hardware cost us around USD 1,000 per month, yet it was only a fraction of what we were earning once we got it rolling.
  • Linux sh*ts all over Windows. We had both stacks (initially) and Linux always impressed me with its stability, up time, ease of maintenance without taking the site down and super performance. Need I say more lol.
  • Don’t get tied up in a “which language” debate. At the end of the day you are solving a business problem and whatever tools work at the time stick to them. BlueArrow was built-in classic ASP (remember this), then it was ported to PHP as WebAnt and later we introduced parts in C# & Java. It worked, we were profitable, it was fun to learn new languages and our clients were happy. Just make sure you monitor performance and stay on-top of the game (trends) and adjust as needed.
  • Results are everything and talk is just bullshit. Don’t get excited about a potential partnership / expansion unless you start seeing some results like customers signing up and/or your bank account dollars increasing. Everyone around you wants to make money off your idea and will talk it up like you will be a millionaire tomorrow. Just focus on your business and give them the tools to go away and bring those millions. Never lose focus of you goal.
  • Build a profitable business from the start. It’s alot more fun knowing that every sweat and late night you pull in is rewarded financially. The harder you work the more money you make (not always but you get the gist). Don’t hope that one day you will find a way to make money, do the hard-work now (at the start) and you will have more rewards. Take a read of 37signals/DHH style companies on being profitable and proud: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=169197

When I walked away from this venture I knew the ins and out of web analytics. I considered myself very well-informed. And to this day I still hold a very keen interest in data mining, analysis & analytics. Yes today I use Google Analytics for most projects which require tracking since it’s a lot simpler and easier than building your own home-grown solution + it’s a very powerful tool when used correctly.

Ernest