The Aiopoly app that helps the blind see
Built out of the Singularity University in California, the Aiopoly app is designed to make the blind see. Aipoly Vision blends modern advancements in artificial intelligence with the regular technology of an iPhone. With its "neural networks and deep learning algorithms" it identifies objects in real-time and then speaks their names out aloud. The app works in 7 languages.
Apps that help people see
Be My Eyes is an app that connects sighted helpers from around the world with blind and visually impaired via a live video connection. The volunteers can help the blind distinguish labels etc. The other app is the Colour ID app which uses the iPhone camera or iPod touch to pronounce the names of colors in real-time.
Text recognition apps for the blind
Braigo Labs launched a beta-version of the app to help the blind to "make sense of text on images". Another step towards text-recognition was the KNFB Reader app which enables users to "listen to an audio readback of printed text". It is helpful in reading menus and understand printed instructions. However, the app comes is priced at $99 which makes it inaccessible to everyone.
Japanese love the app, but to learn English!
In Japan, there have been 8,000 downloads since 2016. However, the Japanese are using it to learn English. "It speaks with a proper British accent so people know how to pronounce in English".
Limitations of the app
Aipoly's AI is not yet refined enough to explain the particulars presented in a diagram, it is only able to recognize some images and transmit them to the user. While the app promotes its capacity to differentiate between logos of different brands, this feature needs working on. When "shown a can of Coca-Cola in tests, the app misidentified it as Coors beer".
