Fighting porch pirates with artificial intelligence (and flour)

I got a package stolen by a package thief, so I did the only thing I know how to do - build an unnecessarily complicated and ethically ambiguous machine.

#machinelearning #porchpirates #packagethieves

This is the story of how I built a machine to recognize if a package is being stolen from my porch, and respond accordingly. The project uses a combination of python, tensorflow, and the last of my sanity.

Mark Rober's the OG for package theft, so make sure to check out his channel if you haven't seen it already:

All the people in the video are friends of mine, though they may not be anymore I dunno.

[minorking]

I think everyone came here hoping to see it work on actual porch pirates.

[StevePringle]

Oh dear. I dropped the package at the wrong house. Let me go back and get it. 😂

[Moyersster]

Hey YouTube algorithm, just wanted to let you know this content is so engaging that I’m posting a comment! You should show this video to more people. Ryder, awesome videos! Keep it up!

[wildesage]

Regarding getting your own packages, I would make a handheld sign with qr code that deactivates the alarm. Keep it in the house by the door. I can just flash that to the camera rather than having to look up at it every time... and also be constantly worrying that He Who Must Not Be Named might make off with all my socks and batteries and season 2 of buffy the vampire slayer on DVD and such...

[Geradovitch]

The reactions of your friends invited to pick up the package at your door made me laugh. To have only 5 out of 20 that accepted to participate in your quest, defines quite well your character. Keep on going with your projects. You are the best. 👍

[crazyjameswaikle]

Flour is fine and all, but it's just flour and cleans up easy. For REAL revenge, use corn starch. Makes a mess as you try to wash it off.

[DenisDaLynx]

Can't wait for videos of actual thieves getting fooled by that

[MrLiguinii]

Oh, its this sort of system where you have to bring a package to take a package.

[adamk]

Had a guy try to steal my computer chair a while back. I live in Canada and I've never dealt with package theft. Woke up from a nap and go to check if my package is there, caught the guy as he was walking down the road with it. These people are pathetic

[MikeyFFA]

Your neighbours, especially those working form home, must just adore you

[AtlantaTerry]

Function to add: record cell phone info of everyone. When a legit theft happens, you will be able to identify them.

[RyderCalmDown]

Hope you enjoyed this one, it was a solid month in the making. I've got some bigger and weirder things planned for the next little bit, but let me know if there's something specific you want to see.

[waqasusmans]

Your production, editing, narration and actual work is A+ quality! I thought you would have 100s of thousands of subscribers! Good luck with your channel, I'm sure you have that many soon!

[jessicatangeman]

I love it! I had a smile on my face the whole time. Brilliant fun while practicing machine learning.

[JohnDoe-xqsk]

Subscribed. Really good videos, great sense of humor. Very professional with out being too professional. Lol

[overencumbered]

Very funny to watch you test it out on your mates, that’s what friends are for 😉👍

[John_Ridley]

Got it, so when stealing packages from this house, bring an empty box to replace it with.

[sarpguler]

Replace the flour with anthrax and the system is complete

[star-iv]

Great video, everything is on point. Was surprised to see only 10k subscribers. Keep up the great work and soon you'll have many more subscribers.

[just-stuff]

Content like this deserves more people to enjoy. Absolutely loved the truck horn. You must have decent neighbours haha