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"The artificial intelligence has revolutionized not only my life, but also that of my students." It is this phrase that Luciane Molina, a university professor and badistant professor of technology at the University of Taubaté, in São Paulo, defines to define her relationship with initiatives developed to improve the autonomy of people with disabilities by means of algorithms
In Brazil, according to the 2010 census of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), there are 45.6 million disabled people in the country (23.9% of the population at the time).
Luciane is blind and a
With these accessibility solutions, it was possible to discover the Wi-Fi pbadword only at home, and also when For example, your computer was undergoing an update . Indeed, the current screen reading software for the blind does not have access to screens such as the Windows update.
The teacher also presents the technological resources to her students. "With each novelty that I present, their life becomes easier," she says.
Recently, a student from Luciane gained more autonomy through an actual reading app. "She was eager to stay home alone and pay for the kettle without the help of other people," she says.
Most of these solutions have been developed using "data-intensive" learning systems. From this information, they are able to identify patterns and make decisions with the least possible human intervention.
But the transcription of speech in real-time text and computer vision resources are just a few examples of applications of artificial intelligence.
"The more we use [os recursos de inteligência artificial para pessoas com deficiência] the better it is." they stay, "says the professor, and she uses TapTapSee, to read product labels, and Seeing AI, to organize documents and diplomas in folders and to recognize the texts of photos she receives through e-mail or via social networks such as Facebook.
even developed a wooden stand to support books and printed materials to provide optimal viewing angle and good lighting.
Seeing AI is a Microsoft initiative in artificial intelligence for blind people with reduced vision.The application uses computer vision and neural networks to identify objects, colors, texts , the scenes and even the physical characteristics and facial expressions of a person.For the moment, it is only available on iOS, the operating system used by the appa apple reils.
The application is only one of the accessibility actions developed by Microsoft. In May 2018, the company's chief executive, Satya Nadella, announced an investment of $ 25 million (about $ 93 million) over five years in artificial intelligence projects for people with disabilities.
NGOs, academics, researchers, and inventors may submit artificial intelligence-based accessibility projects for the AI For Accessibility program by February 1, 2019. Approved companies will receive a contribution from the company to move projects and ideas to another level. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis and to register, you must complete a form.
Facebook is another technology giant investing in artificial intelligence projects for people with disabilities. The social network uses algorithms to generate an automatic image description for the blind. The feature is not perfect or replaces a human description, but it works for a more accessible environment.
There are several methods of machine learning. What they have in common is that everyone needs people to teach them how to learn a particular task and do what they want. On Facebook, image recognition systems are monitored by people who look at the photos and tell them what they contain.
According to Matthew King, accessibility specialist engineer for Facebook, even though artificial intelligence is in development. decades, the systems we have are still new. "Although they have improved rapidly in recent years, they still have many limitations," he said. Even in this case, they represent a big step forward for the full participation of the blind in the online environment, according to the expert.
Luciane Molina, a university professor and badistive technology technician, agrees. She says that before, the social network did not interest her so much because of the number of publications with images with which she could not interact because they did not know what it was about [19659002] Once, her friend posted a photo and wrote in the caption: Look at my new bracelet. "But in reality, the image referred to the bandage placed on the arm of the friend after a bruise.
She acknowledges that the descriptions are basic and does not replace an audio description, but she appreciates the "The fact that Facebook's artificial intelligence has aggregated these image recognition features has represented an incredible gain in price," he said.
Recently, the company has also released the automatic description feature and written a manual description on Instagram. . However, some blind people blame the social network for not being easy to use. When asked about the BBC Brazil report, King, the Facebook engineer, said it was a continuous improvement process.
"The addition of photo descriptions was a very important step for Instagram as photos are the most popular type, but we expect a lot more."
Speech Recognition and Language Transcription Real-time human are one of the most traditional features of artificial intelligence and are very useful for people with certain types of disabilities. Alex Garcia is deafblind and was the first Brazilian with this disability to attend a university.
He has a vision of 1% and does not listen. Deafblindness is defined by the non-compensation of the senses. There are those who can listen and see with great difficulty.
Today, Alex is dedicated to giving lectures and managing the Gaucho Association of parents and friends of the deaf and multi-faceted (Agapasm). One of the applications that she uses is called CTO (Once-Tactile Communicator), a communication tool for deafblind people with various resources.
Among them, let us quote the saying. Although the main form of communication occurs when people write in your hand, sometimes this is not possible. In this case, Alex brings the microphone closer to the person's mouth so that she can talk. Then he can get the text on the screen in enlarged letters via the app.
"The mobile phone helps me when the person does not know how to write, so the application is a valuable alternative because it helps me sleep better.a medium does not work, the other will work", says -he. He says that deafblindness involves an extremely delicate and vulnerable social situation.
Although artificial intelligence resources are extremely prevalent in smartphones, initiatives have also been taken to bring this reality to the physical world. This is the case of the Wheelie, a device developed by a team of Brazilians who promise to order wheelchairs through artificial intelligence. The technology is being developed in partnership with Intel.
This equipment is tested in the United States by 60 people with disabilities. According to Paulo Pinheiro, CEO of Hoobox Robotics, the company that develops this technology, the next step is to enter the Chinese market in 2019. In Brazil, the product is expected to arrive only in 2020.
Orcam My Eyes is another way to increase the independence of people with disabilities. He is able to read accurately the printed documents and is available in the 54 municipal libraries of São Paulo.
According to Lúcia Miyake, a specialist in research and badistive technology, disability support technologies have always existed. and practically accompanied the industrial revolutions. "There was a breakthrough when the era of steam engines entered the era of electricity, into which electronic equipment came in. Examples are the electric wheelchair and recorder. "
But the revolution itself came with the possibility of programming electronic equipment. "Together, came the importance of data and information, which I consider the beginning of artificial technology," he said. We are now entering a new phase called Industry 4.0. "
" The most interesting is that the user can count on help without knowing where the orders come from. In this regard, the disabled person can work or study remotely with everything. access to information, as well as the controls of programmed electronic devices (making a coffee, opening the curtain, etc.) ", explains Miyake
The main limitations of the sector are the lack of researchers and resources or Investment in the field of research in badistive technologies.In addition, if the artificial intelligence product is unique for the use of disabled people, the cost will be higher in Due to low manufacturing demand.
Nevertheless, it is optimistic for the future. "Support technology is becoming increasingly well-known and constitutes an area of good applicability of intelligence "In addition to universal design," he said, according to Forbes magazine, the market for badistive devices for people with disabilities and the elderly was estimated at $ 14 billion in 2015 and is expected to exceed $ 26 billion. ollars in 2024. The data come from Coherent Market Insights
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