Aussie woman unveils robot that can help you with your OOTD

Models present creations from the Calvin Klein Spring/Summer 2015 collection during New York Fashion Week September 11, 2014. Reuters/Carlo Allegri

Australian entrepreneur Antonia Bolla thinks people will soon let a robot decide what they should wear. She has sought and won financial backing to make the idea happen. The University of Sydney Business School student has finally unveilved a “virtual stylist,” an AI-powered online fashion platform called Jamie & I that tells women what to wear.

News.com.au is reporting that Bolla came up with the idea while participating in the university’s start-up incubator program. She won $10,000 cash injection for the project where Jamie & I came to life.

Bolla created a website that zooms in on the style preferences of shoppers, guiding them through some visual questionnaires. They can obtain personal outfit recommendations, which they can purchase in a few clicks.

The young business student shared how the venture started. “You know when you’re running around, looking in the closet, and you just have nothing to wear, you just don’t know what to put on." She recalled listening to Spotify’s Discover Weekly playlist while on the ferry. She then noticed that the lists of songs are put together based on user preferences. Bolla said the idea is on point, exactly what she needs for fashion.

Jamie & I displays a concise list of personalised recommendations so shoppers do not have to filter through pages of search results to find the item they want. Bolla said their primary focus is to get the right outfit for the customers, so people simply need to log in and have a curate selection of outfits tailored to their personal style.

Meanwhile, futurist Shara Evans has warned that Aussies are destined for the unemployment queue if they don’t “wake up” to the revolution of robots. Robots are transforming how people work, shop and socialise, and it is feared that effects are worse than a lot of people may realise.

Based on a research conducted by recruitment agency Randstad, 77 percent of Aussies who responded to the survey believe the revolution of robots will require them to change careers in the next 10 years, while 84 percent are not concerned that automation will affect their careers. But Evans believes millions of jobs will be gone in the future.

“The reality is that 40 percent of current jobs in Australia won’t exist in 10 to 15 years due to automation,” news.com.au quoted Evans as saying, adding that advancements in technology will clearly continue to rise.

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