Zebra
In a nutshell
Picnic Runners use Zebra handheld devices to run the Runner App during their shifts. Keeping them safe on the road is a priority, and we’re exploring whether these devices’ cameras could help detect driver distraction in real time and alert the Runner. Recordings could also help us understand what happened if an accident occurs. As a thesis intern with our RUN Systems team, you’ll investigate what’s technically feasible and build a prototype to test it. The project spans the Runner App, on-device machine learning and the backend pipeline for storing and syncing data. You’ll combine your Master’s thesis with hands-on experiments and share evidence to help the team decide what to explore next.
This is a full-time thesis internship.
Tricks of the Trade
- Solving real-life puzzles: Explore whether the Zebra devices our Runners already use can help detect driver distraction and support accident analysis.
- Enabling: Test the devices’ camera capabilities and technical limits, from inference speed, memory and battery use to secure storage and variable network coverage.
- Building: Prototype the flow from camera capture and on-device detection to live alerts, shift-specific recording storage and reliable backend sync.
- Communicating: Work with RUN Systems and colleagues across the Runner App, logistics and backend teams to share findings and shape practical next steps.
- Owning your project: Take initiative, challenge assumptions and learn through hands-on testing. Your experiments will help us understand what’s possible and where to go next.