AI and camera technology are once again bringing new innovations. The talking camera app 'Seeing AI', which captures and verbalizes scenes from the world we unconsciously see, is now available on Android.
The app has been available for 'iOS' and 'iPadOS' since 2019, but with this release, it is now accessible on the 'Google Play' store. It currently supports 18 languages and plans to expand to 36 languages by 2024.
The Future of Support for the Visually Impaired
'Seeing AI' recognizes the surrounding environment through a smartphone camera and provides information via voice. This enables visually impaired individuals to read emails, recognize products, and listen to photo descriptions.
It utilizes Microsoft's Cognitive Services, allowing real-time display of results for identified objects. This enables visually impaired users to access the world in real-time through their smartphones.
Based on AI-powered cognitive abilities, 'Seeing AI' converts visual information into audio, recognizing text, documents, barcodes, people, landscapes, currency, colors, and lights. Notably, features like 'Short Text', 'People', 'Color', and 'Light' can be used offline. Additionally, the app incorporates new features using OpenAI's ChatGPT, allowing document text recognition results to be analyzed by ChatGPT.
Photos as Cognitive Devices
This transcends the traditional view of photos as primarily recording devices. 'Seeing AI' focuses on the transformation of the nature of photos, emphasizing the mechanism of recognizing information through photos. As a cognitive device that converts visual information into auditory information, it is expected to solve accessibility challenges faced by the visually impaired.
Long-standing Commitment to Accessibility
Microsoft has been providing accessibility-related services for over 30 years, and 'Seeing AI' was developed as part of this commitment. The app is designed to be simple, allowing users to operate it accurately even without sight, with many features consolidated into a single app.
Such accessibility apps support various activities in the daily lives of visually impaired individuals, offering new opportunities for social participation due to their convenience. The use of AI technology in accessibility is becoming increasingly important as times progress, and Microsoft's efforts are making a significant impact. Looking towards the future of support for the visually impaired, 'Seeing AI' is paving the way for a new era of accessibility.
