We’re pleased to announce AWS DeepLens (2019 Edition), an update to the world’s first machine learning–enabled video camera. The new AWS DeepLens (2019 Edition) is available to purchase in the US and for the first time in seven new countries: UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Japan, and Canada.

We have improved the hardware and software to make the device even easier to setup, allowing you to get started with machine learning more quickly. Many ML models run 2x faster on the device thanks to optimization with Amazon SageMaker Neo. We have also added new tutorials for construction worker safety (hard hat detection), coffee drinking detection, and sentiment analysis.

It’s been incredibly exciting to see so many of you get your start in machine learning using AWS DeepLens after we first launched the device in re:Invent 2017. The vast majority starts off with no machine learning experience at all, but quickly learn the basics using the pre-built models included with the device. Then, they move on to building their own deep learning models in Amazon SageMaker, which run directly on the device. Some have even gone on to get jobs as applied machine learning data scientists.

All the time, we hear from developers who have built cool projects using AWS DeepLens, from apps that read books to kids, to dog detectors, to yoga instructors. This one caught our eye. Ben Hamm —who had never even coded before—built an app called “Cats, Rats, A.I., Oh My!” Ben’s cat, Metric, is a keen hunter and so he needed a way to stop the cat from bringing his prey into the house. Ben built his own deep learning model in Amazon SageMaker that automatically identifies not only his cat, but whether it was carrying prey. He mounted an AWS DeepLens on his back porch. When it detected an incoming “gift” from his feline friend, it connected to an Arduino system that automatically locked the cat flap. Genius.

To see how AWS DeepLens helped, and how Ben built his own computer vision model in Amazon SageMaker, look at his five-minute Ignite presentation.

You can find 23 more AWS DeepLens projects that developers have shared with us, including American Sign Language interpretation. We’d love to hear about yours, too.

International pre-orders available now

We are excited to bring AWS DeepLens (2019 Edition) to customers around the world for the first time. We got the chance to show the device to our friends at the Japan AWS User Group (the largest cloud computing user group in the world).

Daisuke Nagao and Ryo Nakamaru, co-leads for the group commented: “We welcome the general availability of AWS DeepLens in Japan market. It will excite our developer community and developers in Japan to accelerate the adoption of deep learning technologies.” We couldn’t agree more.

AWS DeepLens (2019 Edition) is now available for pre-order on the following websites:

For more information about AWS DeepLens, look at the AWS DeepLens detail page, or browse posts on the AWS Machine Learning Blog.

About the Authors

Rick Mitchell is a Senior Product Marketing Manager with AWS AI. His goal is to help aspiring developers to get started with Artificial Intelligence. For fun outside of work, Rick likes to travel with his wife and two children, barbecue, and run outdoors.