DeepLens Challenge #1 Starts Today – Use Machine Learning to Drive Inclusion

Are you ready to develop and show off your machine learning skills in a way that has a positive impact on the world? If so, get your hands on an AWS DeepLens video camera and join the AWS DeepLens Challenge!

About the Challenge
Working together with our friends at Intel, we are launching the first in a series of eight themed challenges today, all centered around improving the world in some way. Each challenge will run for two weeks and is designed to help you to get some hands-on experience with machine learning.

We will announce a fresh challenge every two weeks on the AWS Machine Learning Blog. Each challenge will have a real-world theme, a technical focus, a sample project, and a subject matter expert. You have 12 days to invent and implement a DeepLens project that resonates with the theme, and to submit a short, compelling video (four minutes or less) to represent and summarize your work.

We’re looking for cool submissions that resonate with the theme and that make great use of DeepLens. We will watch all of the videos and then share the most intriguing ones.

Challenge #1 – Inclusivity Challenge
The first challenge was inspired by the Special Olympics, which took place in Seattle last week. We invite you to use your DeepLens to create a project that drives inclusion, overcomes barriers, and strengthens the bonds between people of all abilities. You could gauge the physical accessibility of buildings, provide audio guidance using Polly for people with impaired sight, or create educational projects for children with learning disabilities. Any project that supports this theme is welcome.

For each project that meets the entry criteria we will make a donation of $249 (the retail price of an AWS DeepLens) to the Northwest Center, a non-profit organization based in Seattle. This organization works to advance equal opportunities for children and adults of all abilities and we are happy to be able to help them to further their mission. Your work will directly benefit this very worthwhile goal!

As an example of what we are looking for, ASLens is a project created by Chris Coombs of Melbourne, Australia. It recognizes and understands American Sign Language (ASL) and plays the audio for each letter. Chris used Amazon SageMaker and Polly to implement ASLens (you can watch the video, learn more and read the code).

To learn more, visit the DeepLens Challenge page. Entries for the first challenge are due by midnight (PT) on July 22^nd and I can’t wait to see what you come up with!

— Jeff;

PS – The DeepLens Resources page is your gateway to tutorial videos, documentation, blog posts, and other helpful information.