Have you ever wondered how emerging technologies could benefit your business? Could microservices improve the response time of your system or could AI help you solve complex problems? Have you thought that more could be done with the data that you have? Do you have a method of driving innovation in your company?
For Helmes, innovation in the field of Artificial Intelligence started with our next generation library application.
For many years, we had problems with lending out paperback books from the Helmes library. The checkout was neither transparent nor easy to use. We tackled the problem using state-of-the art machine learning backed by an image recognition model trained on Helmes employees and books. If you want to borrow a book today, the only thing you need to do to check it out is to show your face and book to the system. The same applies to returning a book! Our system could also be used in actual libraries, saving readers from having to carry around the library card.
As with all great inventions, one step leads to another. Thanks to the huge multi-tonne computers in the 50s, we now have computers we can fit on our wrist or in our pocket. The library application sparked another idea of cognitive advertisements – an application that uses physical features of by-passers in combination with weather data, to identify which advertisements to show. So instead of dumb-billboards, we will soon have billboards that know what you would be interested in. Another benefit of the system is that we can now tell how many people saw the ad, how old they were and whether they were mostly men or women.
The innovation related to implementing image recognition in combination with artificial intelligence doesn’t stop here!
The next topic could be a smart system that identifies free parking spots. The only requirement is that the system be placed on a high surface so as to have a good overview of the area. Going even further, the system could operate on drones and cover multiple parking lots! This would make any “dumb” parking lot instantly “smart”. This is also great for gathering statistics: what are the peak times and how many different cars actually use the parking lot. These are just a few examples of how technology can help you achieve your business goal. It is important to continuously validate new technologies and their possibilities!
In Helmes we are constantly looking for inspiration from different sources. One main source is our client needs and real-life cases. Another source of inspiration is the new emerging technologies. In IT it is crucial to better understand what the possibilities and challenges of new technology are and how our clients can benefit from them. The technology that could transform our everyday lives to the next level already exists. The only thing left to do is to have the courage to implement it!
Staying on top of the technological wave is hard and requires constant attention.
Helmes is trying hard to provide the best possible platform for innovation to grow. For this we have created Helmes Tech Nation Talks that enable specialists to speak about personal experiences regarding hot topics such as containerization, microservices in production or continuous improvement.
The New Technology Program gives professionals an opportunity to get training in the field of artificial intelligence or big data. We also have events called Hack Days. Twice a year, during one entire work day the Helmes people can pick a desirable topic from a list of ideas or think of their own idea to implement. It gives Helmes people a chance to try and implement new technologies, tools and frameworks.