A prototype of the AI-powered smart glasses.
Two KCA University students have invented Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered smart glasses with advanced features to empower visually impaired individuals.
The innovation is specifically designed to enhance the lives of visually impaired individuals, fitted with advanced optical character recognition and contextual recognition thereby breaking down barriers for blind persons.
According to Samson Muturi, a fourth year Software Development student at the university, the invention uses a combination of Google Maps and other devices such as computer vision to navigate, read and conduct other tasks such as screening to facilitate object recognition.
Speaking during the university’s Innovation Week, Muturi said that the smart glasses have accessibility for people with blindness and low vision and they can use them for various tasks as they contain features such as voice assistance, object recognition and navigation assistance to help the blind identify objects, navigate unfamiliar environments and receive audio descriptions of the surroundings.
“The smart glasses for the blind come as a major solution to the visually impaired persons especially those without assistive mobility devices as they are able to scan the environment. The glasses will effectively replace the white cane and other devices like braille since they can read and interpret information to a visually impaired person,” said Muturi.
“This is just a prototype that we hope to better into an actual product. What we lack currently is funding to facilitate further upgrading. We also want to partner with AI experts to enhance the capacity of these glasses and are using the smartest but simplest solutions to ensure that the product will be as affordable as possible for easy access to all the visually impaired persons,” he added.
Victor Ng’ang’a, co-inventor and classmate, revealed that the high-tech invention will provide independent access to information, instant text among other features.
Ng’ang’a however decried low funding which has hindered actualization of the product whose database requires it to be constantly updated with objects and scenes.
“With mentorship and enough funding, we hope to bring the best solution to the visually impaired persons. We have started the process of patenting the product to ensure that the idea is not plagiarized or stolen by unscrupulous individuals. The University through the Research and Innovation Hub has played a pivotal role in ensuring our innovations and ideas are well protected,” he said.
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The varsity’s Vice Chancellor, Isaiah Wakindiki, said that problems bedevilling the society should be viewed as opportunities by innovators, students and everyone in general.
“The horizon is wide in terms of what to research or what to innovate. KCA University is committed to support the innovation agenda in terms of funding. So far, we have an annual Ksh10 million through the VC Research and Invention Fund and have partners to help us promote innovation together,” the VC said.
