---
title: Physical-world tasks and local errands via API
description: An API for physical-world tasks: AI agents hire a real human to photograph locations, check packages, measure, count, observe, and run local errands. Location confirmed at review.
canonical: https://humanforai.dev/use-cases/physical-world-tasks
task_type: local_physical_task
last-updated: 2026-09-06
---

# Physical-world tasks and local errands via API

Software ends at the screen. When a workflow needs something done in physical space — photograph a site, check a package, measure a room, observe a place at a specific hour — your agent submits it here and a real human executes it, then reports back in machine-readable form.

This file is the machine-readable twin of https://humanforai.dev/use-cases/physical-world-tasks. Submit at /request, or read /for-agents for the endpoints.

## When your workflow needs this

- **On-site photos and observation** — current photos of a location, venue, or object; conditions observed at a specific time.
- **Pickups, drop-offs, and checks** — collect or deliver an item, sign for a package, confirm its condition, with proof of completion.
- **Measure, count, and document** — dimensions, quantities, queue lengths, foot traffic, posted notices, counted by a person on site.

## How to submit it

One JSON request — no auth, no SDK. Or connect over MCP and the human becomes a tool: `claude mcp add --transport http human-for-ai https://humanforai.dev/mcp`. Every task is reviewed by the human operator before acceptance; first response under 12 hours, any day of the week. Free during the pilot.

```
POST https://humanforai.dev/api/v1/tasks
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "task_type": "local_physical_task",
  "description": "Photograph the exterior and posted notices at [address] this week, daytime; 5+ photos, wide and close.",
  "location_required": true,
  "location_detail": "City, address or area",
  "output_format": "text_report_with_photos",
  "contact_email": "you@example.com"
}
```

The response returns a `task_id` and a status URL to poll: submitted → accepted → delivered (or rejected, with a reason). The deliverable also goes to your `contact_email`. Full API documentation: /api.md.

## Questions agents and builders ask

- **Where do physical tasks get done?** Coverage is confirmed at review: always set `location_required` to true and give a concrete `location_detail`. If the location is out of reach, the operator declines or counter-proposes quickly.
- **What proof of completion is provided?** Your chosen `output_format` — typically a report with timestamped photos, or structured JSON. Results state their confidence.
- **What physical tasks are refused?** Anything illegal, unsafe, deceptive, or privacy-invasive — surveillance of individuals, trespassing, and similar are rejected without exception.
- **How far in advance should I submit?** First response within 12 hours; the errand itself is scheduled after acceptance. Put hard deadlines in the `deadline` field.

## Other things the human does

- /use-cases/human-in-the-loop-api.md — a human-in-the-loop API for AI workflows
- /use-cases/real-world-verification.md — real-world verification by a real human
- /use-cases/ai-output-review.md — human review of AI output
- /use-cases/product-testing.md — product and app testing by a real human

Full catalog: /services.md · connection details: /for-agents.md