Comcast’s work around A.I. has extended to the cameras that are attached to its Xfinity Home platform to help pinpoint when those cameras should capture movement.
In the wake of a 24/7 recording feature with motion-detection introduced last year, Comcast recently added A.I. and machine learning techniques that train the system to “identify the most relevant image in a motion event,” Chris Ganster, senior director, product at Comcast Cable, explained in this blog post.
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Those additions extend and enhance the movement detection capabilities of the earlier iteration of the system.
“While the system was smart enough to recognize movement, it was less good at capturing exactly when that movement was taking place (this resulted in a lot of a pictures of the tip of a dog’s tail or the edge of a car bumper in the far corner of an image),” he noted.
Comcast, he added, took some of the AI and machine learning techniques used to refine the X1 Voice Remote and applied them to technology called “computer vision.”
From there, engineers from Comcast’s Applied AI Team in Washington, D.C., worked with those involved with Xfinity Home to implement a “homegrown algorithm” that focuses on movement, centers it, and “delivers a thumbnail that is instantly recognizable.”
“So now instead of squinting to see the tip of your dog’s tail, you’ll see a clear image of your dog, or the delivery truck, or whatever else triggers your motion detector,” Ganster noted.
As a result, Comcast said it has already seen a 20% rise in customers using the Xfinity Home app to view recorded moments.
Ganster said Comcast intends to add more AI-focused features to its Xfinity Home cameras that, for example, will use optical zoom to deliver better, more useful images.
Comcast has more than 1 million Xfinity Home subs.
