Data-collection networks · Data-collection vendor
Objectways
Objectways, an AI data company with offices in India and the United States, collects first-person video for robot training from its base on the main street of Karur, Tamil Nadu. NPR reported in October 2026 that it pays hundreds of people across India to record household jobs at home, about $2.60 an hour for the recorder it met (around $120 a month for a few hours a day), and that its staff also record in a studio laid out like a three-bedroom house. AFP reported in June 2026 that home contributors send chore recordings through an app, one earning just over $2 for an hour of video. Its careers page lists contract Junior Analyst (Egocentric) roles in Karur supporting AI data annotation and data quality.
Outside reports
Is Objectways a good place to work?
Researched October 2026 · 8 sourcesMostly. Objectways is a real AI data firm, founded in 2018 with offices in Arizona and Tamil Nadu, and home recorders told NPR and AFP of about $2 to $2.60 an hour. But it publishes no pay, and its Karur analyst jobs are 3-month contracts. The main risk is unwritten terms: Objectways publishes no rate for filming chores at home, its Karur analyst roles are 3-month contracts on rotating shifts with no stated pay, and its employee ratings could not be checked for this review. It pays Reported: about $2 to $2.60 an hour (India).
Joined through its own application (it publishes no job postings)
Objectways Technologies was founded in the US in August 2018 by its CEO, Ravishankar (Ravi) Rajalingam, a Karur native based in Arizona whom NPR and AFP call Ravi Shankar. It lists offices in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Karur, Coimbatore and Chennai and says it has over 2,200 staff. NPR calls it one of Karur's biggest white-collar employers; Inc42 reported it collects about 1,000 hours of first-person video a day.
Objectways publishes no rate. NPR met a home recorder paid about $2.60 an hour, around $120 a month for 2 to 3 hours a day; AFP met one in Chennai paid 250 rupees (just over $2) an hour, sending video to Objectways through an app. Its Karur Junior Analyst (Egocentric) jobs are 3-month contracts over three shifts, with no pay listed.
Accessible home recording in India, at rates far below US programs.
India: home recording contributors across the country (reported) and walk-in contract analyst roles in Karur, Tamil Nadu (45 positions across three shifts, walk-in interviews weekdays 9 am to 5 pm, as of October 26, 2026).
We found no documented scam using Objectways' name as of October 28, 2026. Its openings are on objectways.com/careers, with walk-in interviews at its Karur office, and its HR address is hrm@objectways.com. Treat anyone who asks you to pay for a job, a camera or training as a scammer, as the FTC warns.
What people praise
- A home recorder in Chennai told AFP: "Who else will give you 250 rupees an hour just for doing housework?"
- A 24-year-old home recorder near Karur told NPR the gig pays around $120 a month for a few hours of chores a day, work she picked up a few months earlier.
- Its Junior Analyst posting states the contract length, the three shifts, the 45 openings and walk-in interview hours in Karur (weekdays, 9 am to 5 pm).
What people complain about
- No rate for recording at home appears on its site or careers pages: what home recorders earn is known only from press reports.
- Studio work is repetitive: a studio recorder told AFP she films about 90 four-minute videos a day, folding a towel again and again, and feels she is always wearing a camera.
- Its analyst jobs are 3-month contracts on rotating shifts, extended only "based on project requirements and performance", with no pay listed.
- The home recorder NPR met called the work drudgery, money or not, and expects robots to take it over in the future.
What has gone wrong
- October 2026. NPR reported from Texworth, a Karur textile factory, where a packer earning $90 a month was made to wear a GoPro and said nobody told her it was training robots. NPR did not name the data company behind that recording. In June, AFP saw eight workers at a Karur textile factory wearing head cameras and smart glasses supplied by Objectways.
Best for: People near Karur, Coimbatore or Chennai with good English who want contract AI data work, or Indian home recorders who want a few paid hours of filming chores a day. Not for: Anyone who needs a published rate or a permanent job before starting, or who is not comfortable filming inside their home for robot makers.
Honest catches
- Pay here is outside reports, not measured live from a job feed, so treat it as a benchmark rather than a guaranteed rate.
Sources for this review
- Objectways: About Us (founded 2018, CEO, offices, 2,200+ employees), read Oct 28, 2026
- Objectways: Careers (open roles, HR contact), read Oct 28, 2026
- Objectways: Junior Analyst (Egocentric), Karur (3-month contract, 3 shifts, 45 positions), read Oct 28, 2026
- NPR: These workers help train robots who could one day steal their jobs (Oct 14, 2026)
- NPR: To train robots, AI companies are paying people in India to film themselves doing chores (Oct 15, 2026)
- AFP via RNZ: The Indian workers training AI robots to take their jobs (Jun 11, 2026)
- Inc42: India trains the world's robots, but at what cost? (Jul 1, 2026)
- FTC: That job offer text is probably a scam (Apr 30, 2026)
What Objectways pays
Outside reports · updated 2026-10-26Researched rate card (outside reports), updated 2026-10-26
From press reports on home recorders in India: about $2.60 an hour (NPR, October 2026) and just over $2 for an hour of video (AFP, June 2026). Objectways publishes no rate. The Junior Analyst (Egocentric) roles in Karur are 3-month contracts with no published pay.
| Role | Work type | Researched pay |
|---|---|---|
| Home chore recording contributor (India, reported) | Egocentric Capture | just over $2 per hour of video |
| Junior Analyst, Egocentric (Karur, India; 3-month contract) | Data Annotation | Not published |
Wondering where a number comes from? Read how researched rate cards are sourced and graded.
Live Objectways roles
Objectways does not publish a public job feed.
Applications go through Objectways's own site, and once you have an account it matches you to work.
Join Objectways (opens the job details)Some links here are referral links: when you join an employer through one, RobotTraining.jobs may receive a commission. It costs you nothing, and the employer pays you exactly the same.
Get new Egocentric Capture roles by email
Objectways keeps no public job board for us to read, so we'll send you new Egocentric Capture openings from employers that do, each with its posted pay. No cost, and you can stop any time.
Kinds of work at Objectways
Open any of them for the day-to-day tasks, every employer hiring for it and market-wide pay.
First time doing this kind of work? Read the beginner guides or line up pay at every employer.
What our research records about Objectways
17 dated facts from public sources (the company itself, filings, regulators, courts and the press), each kept with the publication it comes from in one of our research reports. Newest first; the newest is from 28 Oct 2026.
- India data collection6
- Paid recording programs5
- Robot data deals2
- Robot data prices2
- Robot data vendors2
Objectways, which has offices in Karur, Coimbatore and Chennai, says it captures first-person human behavioural data at scale to train humanoid systems.
Source: Objectways · In India data collection
On NPR in October 2026 an Objectways employee said the company pays thousands of people to record themselves working.
Source: NPR · In Paid recording programs
One hour of recording housework or factory work: about $2.60 an hour, paid by Objectways to Recorders in Karur, India (home chores and textile factory).
Source: NPR · In Robot data prices
NPR reports Objectways gathers egocentric data in Karur and appears to be one of the town's biggest white-collar employers, occupying at least four building blocks.
Source: NPR · In India data collection
NPR reports Objectways pays a 24-year-old recorder (Sneha Jegadish) about $2.60 an hour to film housework a few hours a day, around $120 a month.
Source: NPR · In India data collection
A home recorder for Objectways is paid about $2.60 an hour to film her housework and makes around $120 a month.
Source: NPR · In Paid recording programs
All 17 facts about Objectways
Objectways records chores with people in India and also pays Americans to film their housework for US clients.
Source: NPR · In Paid recording programs
Objectways says it pays hundreds of people across India to record domestic jobs.
Source: NPR · In Paid recording programs
Data company Objectways pays Indian workers to film first-person video of housework and factory tasks through its app and supplied head cameras; a Chennai recorder said she earns 250 rupees an hour.
Source: eNCA (AFP) · In Robot data deals
One hour of first-person chore video: 250 rupees an hour, paid by Objectways to Homemaker in Chennai recording chores.
Source: Khaleej Times (AFP) · In Robot data prices
A Chennai homemaker who sends chore recordings to Objectways through its app told AFP the work pays 250 rupees an hour.
Source: Khaleej Times (AFP) · In Robot data vendors
AFP saw eight people wearing head cameras and smart glasses supplied by Objectways at a textile factory in Karur.
Source: Khaleej Times (AFP) · In India data collection
AFP reports Objectways works with Amazon SageMaker; Inc42 likewise says it counts Amazon SageMaker AI among its clients.
Source: Khaleej Times (AFP) · In India data collection
AFP reports a Chennai housewife filming chores for Objectways earns just over two dollars an hour; she says she is paid 250 rupees an hour.
Source: Khaleej Times (AFP) · In India data collection
An Objectways recorder in Chennai told AFP she earns 250 rupees an hour filming housework, reported as just over two dollars an hour.
Source: AFP via Khaleej Times · In Paid recording programs
Objectways sells egocentric and teleoperation data collection services and embodied AI datasets for training robots.
Source: Objectways · In Robot data vendors
San Francisco data platform Encord contracts Indian data labeling firm Objectways to collect human demonstration data, such as staff in Karur filming themselves folding towels, for robotics customers.
Source: Los Angeles Times · In Robot data deals
From the forum
Ask the people doing Objectways work what only they can tell you.
Frequently asked questions
Is Objectways a good place to work?
Mostly. Objectways is a real AI data firm, founded in 2018 with offices in Arizona and Tamil Nadu, and home recorders told NPR and AFP of about $2 to $2.60 an hour. But it publishes no pay, and its Karur analyst jobs are 3-month contracts. The main risk is unwritten terms: Objectways publishes no rate for filming chores at home, its Karur analyst roles are 3-month contracts on rotating shifts with no stated pay, and its employee ratings could not be checked for this review.
Is Objectways legit?
Yes. Objectways Technologies was founded in the US in August 2018 by its CEO, Ravishankar (Ravi) Rajalingam, a Karur native based in Arizona whom NPR and AFP call Ravi Shankar. It lists offices in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Karur, Coimbatore and Chennai and says it has over 2,200 staff. NPR calls it one of Karur's biggest white-collar employers; Inc42 reported it collects about 1,000 hours of first-person video a day.
Is Objectways a scam?
No. Objectways is a real company. We found no documented scam using Objectways' name as of October 28, 2026. Its openings are on objectways.com/careers, with walk-in interviews at its Karur office, and its HR address is hrm@objectways.com. Treat anyone who asks you to pay for a job, a camera or training as a scammer, as the FTC warns.
Does Objectways pay?
Yes. AI data company with offices in India and the United States; AFP reports it lists Fortune 500 multinationals as clients. Payouts: Not published.
How much does Objectways pay?
Reported: about $2 to $2.60 an hour (India). From press reports on home recorders in India: about $2.60 an hour (NPR, October 2026) and just over $2 for an hour of video (AFP, June 2026). Objectways publishes no rate. The Junior Analyst (Egocentric) roles in Karur are 3-month contracts with no published pay.
Is Objectways worth it?
Pay at Objectways: Reported: about $2 to $2.60 an hour (India). It works best as flexible, project-by-project income, since each project sets its own pay, equipment and eligibility. Worth knowing: Accessible home recording in India, at rates far below US programs.
How does Objectways pay out?
Not published.
How Objectways stacks up against similar employers
Remote freelance work for TELUS Digital's AI Community, including a robot teleoperation and wearable-capture role at $32 to $45 an hour, open to applicants in any country.
$32 to $45 an hour on its robot teleoperation role, stated per postingStated by the employer
Wear an Insta360 X5 on your head and film ten-minute stretches of your ordinary day (cooking, cleaning, errands) for an hourly rate set per country.
$40–$120/hr by countryStated by the employer
A European expert network whose robotics program pays remote annotators to describe what robot and human hands do in short video clips.
$5–$15/hr once placedStated by the employer
Wear a headstrap with your phone, press record, and go about your day: paid per accepted hour of first-person video for robot training.
Paid per accepted hour of footageStated by the employerSorted by what an application there is likely worth to you, with a referral lift for employers that pay us a referral fee; your pay is never affected.
Hiring for Objectways? We find the people (you contract them yourself) or we run the project (we deliver the robot data).