A small black camera sits on the desk. It’s smaller than a tennis ball and is plug-and-play. Simple. It can sense your motion and follow you. Raise your hand, and it’ll focus its all-seeing eye on someone or something else. What is this little gadget, you may ask? This is the Osbot AI-powered webcam that is being used in AP Physics classes and to help assist physics labs in Mr. Thomson’s room.
The Osbot can directly focus on one person and can apply things like special effects to images it sees. Senior Zach Huber was impressed with the Osbot when he saw it, saying “This tiny camera has so many features and can even apply types of Instagram filters, which is really cool.” The camera is very small, but with a simple plugin, you can access many features using AI and the camera’s motion sensor.
The word is out around the high school about the Osbot, but what is it being used for? Mr. Thomson said its primary use in his classroom will be for lab demonstrations. Also, in case he’s absent, he is able to record video doing and explaining a lab procedure. This allows him to move around and explain a lab easily because the Osbot camera follows his motion.
The camera is also used in his room for fun and. Mr. Thomson set the camera down on a desk facing the door, and as students walked in, they saw the camera following their motion on the projector. Lindsey Howard, one of Mr. Thomson’s students, said, “It was fun to see the camera following my motions on the projector, and this helped teach motion and kinematics.” Having such a small object able to teach students in a fun and new way is something that the Osbot camera is capable of.
When it comes to the Osbot AI-powered webcam, so far teachers and lab students have only said good things. Kiera Engler, another lab student also said “It is really nice and something different.” The Osbot camera is able to do so much and has lots of potential.
