The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Assisting the Visually Impaired

Written by Aminu Mohammed  

People who are blind or visually impaired face numerous obstacles in their daily lives as they attempt to navigate their surroundings. They experience mental anguish when attempting to comprehend what is going on in their surroundings, particularly when it comes to getting information from printed and visual media like newspapers and television or from engaging in peer-to-peer social activities.

Because of their condition, visually impaired people find it extremely difficult to navigate their surroundings, especially in crowded areas. This is on top of the challenges associated with gaining access to public transportation, which guarantees ease of mobility. Most of the time, they have trouble purchasing tickets or even reading the information, which includes numbers, timetables, and platforms to board a bus or train.

A person who has vision impairment may not be able to see anything at all, experience partial vision loss, or experience vision loss altogether. The spectrum of visual impairment includes blindness and vision loss. People who are visually impaired are those whose conditions cannot be resolved by medication, glasses, contact lenses, or surgery.

Some people are born with a visual impairment and are completely blind, while others experience vision loss as a result of playing sports like baseball or being in a car accident. There are many different conditions that can impair vision, including diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, cataracts, and glaucoma.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 2.2 billion people worldwide struggle with near- or far-sightedness, with cataract and refractive errors in the eye being the two main causes of vision loss. A staggering 411 billion dollars are lost annually in productivity due to visual impairment.  

Artificial intelligence's potential to improve vision loss  

There's no denying that real strides have been made in the application of artificial intelligence to assist blind people with their everyday activities. Smartphone-integrated AI systems have been developed to help visually impaired people navigate their surroundings without the unnecessary hiccups that have been seen in the past. As a result, the new technology can assist those who are blind or visually impaired in identifying objects on the street and can also notify them of a specific location at a given time, allowing them to navigate their surroundings on foot without assistance from a person.

In a similar vein, artificial intelligence improves the lives of blind and visually impaired individuals by giving them access to apps and gadgets that enable them to engage with their surroundings. Artificial intelligence is a boon to those with disabilities. Applications driven by artificial intelligence can allow visually impaired people to view photos that have been sent to them via WhatsApp. The blind have benefited from these machine learning tools since they make their lives easier.  

Artificial intelligence's effect on aiding the blind   

It is impossible to overstate how much artificial intelligence devices have improved the lives of those who are blind or visually impaired. Many people who suffer from vision loss and blindness have found relief from their condition by using devices and applications driven by artificial intelligence to navigate their communities.

Dr. Chieko Asakawa, a Japanese researcher, created the AI Suitcase, an artificial intelligence-powered device that makes it easy for blind people to travel and move around. The blind and visually impaired can walk around and travel with AI Suitcase without running into any obstacles. Therefore, the robot that resembles a suitcase serves as a useful mobility aid to assist those who have low vision in safely navigating their surroundings. The luggage contains built-in sensors and cameras that allow the blind to use a smartphone or earphone to identify objects, people, and specific locations.  The robot also shows the disabled where to go by pointing out specific places, like stores and neighboring markets, among other things. The blind are guided safely to their destination by this artificial intelligence.

The lives of the blind and visually impaired have been improved by the Be My Eyes artificial intelligence-powered app. The tool makes it possible for those who are blind or visually impaired to live comfortable lives by fostering relationships with friends and family. The app, which can be accessed online through a smartphone, is available in more than 180 languages and is usable everywhere on the globe.

Through the app, a person who is blind or visually impaired can also ask a volunteer for help with specific tasks by placing a video call. As a result, the volunteer will be able to assist the visually impaired person in turning on and off household appliances and carrying out daily tasks by using a video call to see the individual via a camera and know where they are.

Furthermore, the Be My Eyes app helps the blind recognize particular objects by giving them a thorough description of a picture taken at a specific time. In addition, the app gives visually impaired people the ability to read letters and get in touch with customer support departments of businesses to resolve their problems. Those suffering from blindness or vision loss can download the app for free from the play store and the apple store.

A free Microsoft app, Sight AI is another artificial intelligence-powered gadget that has helped those who are blind or have low vision. It uses artificial intelligence to help people with low vision obtain timely and accurate information about their environment. The app has a built-in camera and voice-to-text feature, making it easy for the visually impaired to use.

The app can detect text and read it aloud. The AI-powered device has a scanner that helps people with low vision identify products, such as food and household items, by scanning a QR code. It can also identify certain currencies and provide an accurate estimate of what the person is holding at a given time.

Sight AI is also effective at detecting colors, people, and objects in a location, helping the visually impaired find them accurately. Thus, the app makes life easier for the visually impaired by enabling them to navigate their environment independently. The device has been instrumental in helping students with their academic activities in school.

The tool also provides visual support to the visually impaired via a camera and is available on Android devices, iPads, and iPhones. The app is available in many languages, supporting individuals in reading and understanding personal information.

The Envision app is another tool that uses artificial intelligence to help blind people lead normal lives. The app empowers blind and visually impaired people to be independent. Available in over 60 languages, the Envision app is highly effective at reading text, identifying people and their gender, colours, objects, location, and more, helping blind people move around their environment with ease. The Envision app converts visual information into speech through a camera that automatically captures the image of an object during use.

MI4People has also developed a CoVision project in partnership with the Bavarian Federation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (BBSB). The aim is to provide an intelligent and inclusive solution that uses AI to help blind and visually impaired people interpret self-test results independently and safely. The idea behind this is to create inclusive technology for better health and to make self-testing accessible to everyone, especially the visually impaired.

Challenges

Artificial intelligence has made things easier for people with disabilities, enabling them to conduct their activities more easily. However, despite the tangible benefits, artificial intelligence is not a perfect replacement for human skills, but merely a tool to support people with disabilities in carrying out certain tasks without assistance from another individual. Similarly, as individual needs differ from person to person, artificial intelligence is somewhat limited in its ability to understand and meet the personal needs of people with disabilities. There is also the issue of data, as information gathered from people with disabilities may not be used for its intended purpose, thereby breaching trust.

Way forward 

There is no doubt that artificial intelligence has offered tremendous help to a vulnerable segment of society, especially the visually impaired. Artificial intelligence has the capacity to remove technological limitations and engender a digital society where everyone has a sense of belonging, and where visually impaired people have access to devices that make life easier for them.

With heartfelt gratitude, 

MI4People Team