AI Case Study
Rentokil pilots pest identification and treatment recommendation using a mobile app and image recognition
Rentokil is a pest control and extermination company that has partnered with Accenture and Google to trial a mobile app that identifies pests based on user uploaded images. This is done through image recognition and machine learning, and the app proposes treatment strategies accordingly.
Industry
Consumer Goods And Services
Personal And Household Goods
Project Overview
CIO reports "Some of the company's 5,000 pest control technicians are using an Android mobile app developed by Accenture to identify bugs. A technician stumped by a type of bug or rodent can take a picture of the pest and run the app, called PestID. The picture calls home to Google’s image classification and machine learning software to shift through a number of pest images and identify the intruder... When a positive identification is made, the app immediately provides remediation solutions, which have been pre-populated, to help the technician decide treatment plans, including proper chemicals and recommendations for homeowners".
Reported Results
Specifics undisclosed, however according to CIO, "technicians trialing PestID in North America are providing 'very positive feedback' of their experiences".
Technology
From CIO: "Pictures taken through the PestID app are sent to Google’s image classification and machine learning software". From Accenture: "By using pictures captured with smartphone cameras, pests are automatically identified by comparison with a machine learning model trained on a large corpus of Rentokil’s existing pest imagery. Additional information is provided for each suggested match, with a confidence meter to help field technicians make intelligent decisions. When a positive identification is made, the app provides remediation solutions to quickly manage pests".
Function
Operations
General Operations
Background
From Accenture: "As part of a larger rollout of new Android mobile devices and apps to its field service workers, Rentokil took advantage of Accenture’s alliance with Google to solve their business challenge through an innovative mobile app that identifies pests and automatically presents information, customer recommendations, and treatment plans".
Benefits
Data
Mobile phone photos, existing Rentokil pest image datasets