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Both Microsoft and Google have released mobile app updates that help people who are blind or visually impaired navigate the world around them.
The Microsoft application, Seeing AI, is only available on iOS and was launched for the first time in 2017, but it was updated today with new features. These include the ability to explore photos by touch, the native support of the iPad and the ability to customize the channels displayed in the application.
"Seeing AI helps users read text printed in books, restaurant menus, signs and handwritten notes, as well as identify banknotes and products via their barcode," explains the Microsoft Accessibility blog. "By using facial recognition technology on the device, the application can even describe the physical appearance of people and predict their mood."
The name Google called Lookout was first announced last year. It helps the blind or visually impaired to identify information about their environment. It is currently only available on Pixel phones running Android 8.0 or later, and only in the United States. Google says that it will soon bring the application to more devices, countries and platforms.
"Lookout is based on an underlying technology similar to that of Google Lens, which allows you to search and act on objects around you, simply by pointing your phone," says Patrick Clary, Google. "Since the announcement of Lookout at Google I / O last year, we are working to test and improve the quality of the application's results."
Both apps target more than 250 million people worldwide with severe vision problems.
Tagged AI, Google Lookout, Microsoft Seeing AI
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