Storyline

Residents in east China city paid to record housework for embodied AI training

【Voice_over】

Residents in Tai'an City of east China's Shandong Province have recently taken on an unusual side job -- collecting data for developing embodied AI systems.

In the grocery stores, you might find someone wearing a headband-camera that records their hand movements as they reach for fruit or a package of noodles.

Others wear the cameras at home, to record their daily chores, like hanging or folding laundry.

The videos provide invaluable and essential data for robot companies who use them to train their AI systems.

For people like Chen, who can't hold a traditional job because he's caring for his aging mother, the work can be profitable.

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Chen Junxi, Local resident:

"I can earn about 10 to 12 U.S. dollars a day doing this work, and sometimes even more. I have heard that training robots requires a large amount of data. This work can be done in long term and repeatedly, making it especially suitable for people who work from home."

【Voice_over】

Robotics companies are paying residents in rural villages for similar data collection.

In Wanglinpo Village, people making tofu, steaming buns and pouring pancakes are also wearing the recording devices.

The director of the big data center that's collecting and analyzing the information says in going into rural regions, they're hoping to master the techniques of traditional artisans.

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Sui Ming, Director, local big data center:

"By collecting data in keeping with the operation of local industries, our open scenarios become more authentic and valuable because they can transform the experience of traditional craftsmen and masters into data that machines can recognize and read, continuously expanding the scope and types of robot training data."

【Voice_over】

China's embodied AI sector continues to thrive.

Between January and May of this year, sales for embodied AI enterprises jumped more than 22 percent compared to last year.