Ahmedabad: Over 50 students at the Blind People's Association (BPA) are experimenting with AI-enabled smart glasses. When the wearer goes into ‘description mode,' the software clicks a picture and then describes it to the wearer in detail – be it the wearer's distance from the tree ahead or a physics diagram in a notebook. The software also describes the clothes of persons and the weather, helping those with visual impairments navigate with ease or study on their own.
As the International Day of Persons with Disabilities is celebrated on Dec 3 annually, NGOs in the city are actively pursuing technological innovations for students and community members to help their smooth assimilation into society. While smartphones have been a game-changer with screen reader and speech-to-text and text-to-speech functions, they have been a mainstay for persons with disabilities (PwDs) for a long time.
Suketu Shah, founder of a city-based firm that has designed smart glasses, said that for any tech, the challenge is to standardise it and make it affordable. "We realised that the wireless model was heavier on glasses, needed to be charged regularly and was relatively expensive. Thus, we worked on a wired model, and it has become more acceptable. With the AI system constantly learning from user experiences, we have also integrated new features – such as the BRTS schedule as several users use the system," he said.
Likewise, Hunny Bhagchandani, a national award winner for his work on disability sector innovations, has developed a range of products, from smart canes to document readers in multiple languages for PwDs. "We started with one innovation but realised the scope of the work and the impact it has on the lives of PwDs. Education and livelihoods are two major issues, and technology works as a bridge between society and PwDs," he said.
A Braille reader was also launched recently during the ICVEI World Conference in the city, which is now produced in Vadodara. "Earlier we relied on Chinese products, but now we have the reader, which has the support of several Indian languages," said Dipendra Manocha, an ICT pioneer in India's PwD sector.