As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to proliferate, AI-powered gadgets are becoming increasingly welcome additions in advancing our everyday lives, especially important for those whose lives are more challenging because of visual impairment.
Specifically, researchers have developed an AI-powered prototype to help affected individuals get around, which consists of cameras, earphones, and AI, and could be a massive step up from traditional white canes and other conventional technologies, according to a report by Nature on April 14.
Notably, the system works through a tiny computer equipped with AI algorithms that interpret live footage from a camera mounted on a pair of glasses, detecting other people and objects, and transmitting the captured information to the wearer in real-time via an earphone.
For further navigational aid, the researchers have also crafted flexible ‘artificial skin’ patches that users wear on their wrists and fingers, which have their own camera system and vibrate when there’s an obstacle between 40 and 5 centimeters away, as well as when the user reaches for an object, letting them know when to grasp it.
AI-powered glasses at work
The researchers have already tested it out on 20 people, and the results were impressive. As it happens, the participants, all with visual impairment, demonstrated an improvement of 25% from using a cane during a 25-meter-long indoor maze and successfully navigated real-world situations, such as on a city street or in a cluttered conference room.
Commenting on the breakthrough, the study co-author Leilei Gu, an AI researcher at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China:
“The system can partially replace the eyes.”
Meanwhile, a young engineer has developed headgear to help blind people perceive text by reading out aloud in real-time and has shared his work with the public, so others can make the same concept at home for their loved ones, demonstrating the power of ingenuity and using DIY craft for the good.
ReadNext
