For this assignment, we were tasked with watching the above video and discussing how this software could be used for positive and helpful ways.
This video displays "Real-Time Object Detection," which means that this software can examine a video clip and instantaneously classify each object in the scene, incredibly quickly. If perfected, technology like this could become truly invaluable for countless applications in development. The first thing that comes to mind when I watched this video was the potential usage for self-driving technology. In order for cars to become fully autonomous, they have to be able to make calculations based on tens of hundreds of objects in its periphery, and they cannot make these calculation without being able to identify these objects. Perhaps if this technology improves enough, we could achieve semi or fully-autonomous driving just by using our cell phones mounted on the dashboard.
Similarly, if we were able to harness this software and use it in smart eye-wear, this same object detection could be used for safety purposes. If your eye-wear detects a dangerous hazard in your line of sight (or perhaps outside of your line of sight), it could issue a warning that would be impossible to miss, as well as contact the proper authorities instantaneously in the event of a catastrophe.
Another potential use for this technology would be in navigation. Google Maps recently rolled out (or is soon to roll out) a feature that uses your phone camera while walking around and uses your phone camera in the case of a poor GPS signal to put AR instructions on your phone to help you navigate around the area. If this technology could be harnessed by smart eye-wear, it could be revolutionary in the sphere of navigation. I can imagine a future where people are wearing smart glasses that can overlay AR instructions to give you real-time directions. If done properly, this could drastically cut down on distracted driving that seemingly everyone struggles with due to our reliance on our cell phones.