Students at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette spent the whole summer enhancing a mobile AI application for Keepers, a locally founded startup that automates the entire housekeeping process for short-term rental property hosts and managers. Students used AI to help Keepers streamline their all-in-one solution for short-term rental housekeeping operations.
Dr. Henry Chu, Executive Director of the Informatics Research Institute and Professor in the School of Computing and Informatics, searches for opportunities to help students get real-world experience through a collaboration with the Opportunity Machine (OM). OM is a local entrepreneur support organization focusing on early-stage technology research-driven and innovative startups.
Keepers, a OM tech startup program graduate, has been looking to expand its tech capabilities as the company quickly grew. And the interns who chose to work on the project were Kevin Nguyen, Tyler Searle, Austin J. Bryant, Nathaniel L. Agee, Colin E. Dupuis, and Luke Brinkley. And the students worked under the leadership of Assistant Professor Sercan Aygun in the School of Computing and Informatics who runs the tiny Machine Learning and Embedded Computing (tML-EC) Lab.
Keepers was launched by its founder and CEO, Carleena Andrepont, in response to her frustration in coordinating housekeeping services for her short-term rentals. And Andrepont aims to simplify the entire process for hosts by automating it, ensuring that every guest arrives at a clean and fresh rental.
Keepers aims to become an industry standard for property owners by offering seamless integration with existing property management technology, such as Airbnb, VRBO, Hostaway, etc.
Andrepont currently serves Texas, Utah, Nevada, Louisiana, and Alaska, with more locations coming.
Through the app, owners and housekeepers can easily check the cleanliness and organization of household items. This app uses powerful AI models to track objects through segmentation. With Gemini’s generative conversational AI module, the app analyzes each household item to assess its positioning and cleanliness level. This allows for a fast and effective mobile application that guides housekeepers in their tasks.
Keepers integrates client properties into the platform, allowing the app to take over the entire housekeeping process for short-term rentals. And the personalized dashboard provides full management of cleaning services and has expanded to include move-out cleaning.
KEY QUOTES:
“Throughout the summer, the students work and drive to make the AI functionality more and more adaptable to real-world situations, especially with how Keepers operates. Each week we could see the improvements made, and it is truly impressive what the students accomplished in such a short time.”
-Keepers Founder and CEO Carleena Andrepont
“Partnerships like these are valuable not only for the students and startups involved —they uplift the entire local community. We’re building a stronger entrepreneurial ecosystem by connecting non-technical entrepreneurs with talented technical individuals. This connectivity fosters a vibrant support network that fuels entrepreneurial activity and helps retain and nurture local tech talent.”
-Destin Ortego, Executive Director at Opportunity Machine
“I was able to bridge the gap between classroom theory and real-world application. The experience enriched my skills, expanded my professional network, and fueled my excitement for a career in technology.”
-Student Kevin Nguyen
“I gained valuable experience and learned what I am capable of as a software developer working with a talented team. I got an extensive understanding of machine learning, model deployment, and image analysis.”
-Student Luke W Brinkley
“This internship was an invaluable learning experience. Coming from an electrical engineering background, I enjoyed strengthening my programming skills and learning app development centered around machine learning. These skills, along with the experience of working on a project with the lab, will help me in the future.”
-Student Colin E Dupuis
