Seeing AI is a free app that narrates the world around you. Designed for the blind and low vision community, this ongoing research project harnesses the power of Artificial Intelligence to open up the visual world and describe nearby people, text, currency and objects with spoken audio. Much like a Swiss Army knife, this app provides many tools in one by leveraging the power of on-device deep learning to open many "first time in life" scenarios. Released in July 2017, the app has assisted users with over 3 Million successful tasks.
"For the first time since going total (blind) 15 years ago, I read my own menu in a restaurant today using my iPhone and Seeing AI app. Game changer. Have not stopped smiling since." - User feedback on Facebook
Optimized for use with VoiceOver, the app enables you to recognize:
Short Text - Speaks text as soon as it appears in front of the camera. Documents - Provides audio guidance to capture a printed page, and recognizes the text, along with its original formatting. Products - Scans barcodes, using audio beeps to guide you; hear the name, and package information when available. People - Saves people's faces so you can recognize them, and get an estimate of their age, gender, and emotions. Scenes (early preview) - Hear an overall description of the scene captured. Currency - Recognizes currency notes. (Requires iOS 11) Color - Identifies color. Handwriting - Reads handwritten text like in greeting cards Light - Generates an audible tone corresponding to the brightness in the surroundings. Images in other apps - Seeing AI makes other apps accessable. Just tap "Share" and "Recognize with Seeing AI" to describe images from Mail, Photos, Twitter, and more. Featured on App Store homepage. Honored with Helen Keller Achievement Award from the American Foundation for the Blind.
Product video: http://aka.ms/seeingaiproductvideo
User feedback: https://aka.ms/seeingaifeedback
App tutorials: http://aka.ms/SeeingAIPlaylist
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Featured comments (from the blind and low vision community):
"This sounds stupid and cliched but I genuinely feel like my phone got a new lease of life, and has become as useful as my cane, just because of the addition of one app. Is that utterly ridiculous?" "Guess what I'm doing?! I am crying as I read my mail. And it's not just because it turned out to be a bill. It's amazing what a hassle and frustration a little thing like sorting your mail can be when you can't read it yourself. Thank you for giving me my independence back." "For the first time in my life I got the salad I wanted by myself with no random chance in the equation!" "I was able to read the products in vending machines for the first time in years with seeing ai!" "First ever selfy that I have clicked after going blind fifteen years back" "I use this app several times a day for my employment and personal life. This is by far my can't live without app." "The app is absolutely awesome! This app saved me $3500, because I was just about to buy a different device just to be able to read." "It is one of the very best apps I have ever used, and I have been using the iPhone for almost six years." "I had to wait my whole life to be able to read handwriting… for the first time in my life I read a Christmas card "I'm recognizing pictures on Twitter like a kid on Christmas! I don't even care if they are interesting. #BecauseICan #SoThankful #SeeingAI" "This is what I love about modern technology. It can change your life literally overnight."
(More comments here: http://aka.ms/seeingaifeedback )