Haleon and Microsoft recently launched an enhanced artificial intelligence product that promotes advanced inclusivity and improves accessibility, just in time for World Sight Day.
This joint project called Seeing AI integrates a new feature that lets people who are blind and vision-impaired to hear important labels on consumer health products, Microsoft News details.
Techies Are Raving About This New Application
Since 2017, Microsoft has engaged itself in developing the Seeing AI app to expand language support and general functionality for its users.
With this, the company, in partnership with Haleon, will now let users scan barcodes of consumer health products across the United States and the United Kingdom.
Haleon is a global consumer health brand with a portfolio in the areas of oral health, pain relief, respiratory health, digestive health, and Wellness.
Setting a new standard for health inclusivity in the industry, Microsoft and Haleon are driven to deliver an achievable, inclusive, and sustainable technology for communities.
Seeing AI was developed to assist people with low literacy as well with regard to learning about the drugs and products they are consuming, according to Engadget.
This feature will provide an auto read-out of product names, ingredients, and usage instructions, which will help empower people to care for themselves independently, Microsoft News says.
Engadget writes that the new feature is now available for users for free on iOS devices and will be rolling out for Androids in the future as well.
The Seeing AI app can be easily activated by holding the phone camera over the packaging barcode in different languages such as English, Turkish, German, French, and Japanese.
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Users Can Enjoy These Other Seeing AI Features Too
The Seeing AI app has several navigation channels that correspond to the needs of its users, the specific type of app or the software utility they are in search of.
The app offers channels, namely Short Text or Documents, Product, Person, Currency, and Scene, according to Vision Aware.
Seeing AI will allow users to complete multiple tasks with one application instead of having to install multiple stand-alone apps that can consume the phone's memory and battery life.
Short Text is a feature that will speak texts as soon as they appear in front of the camera, while Documents will provide users with audio guidance on how to capture a printed page.
This Document feature on Seeing AI will recognize text in its original formatting, Microsoft said on their official website.
The website posting about Seeing AI also mentioned how the application would help the visually impaired and blind users recognize and describe people around them as well as their emotions.
Additionally, the Seeing AI will have the capability to describe the sceneries to users, as well as detail colors, read handwriting, and identify currency bills, says Microsoft.
Vision Aware reviews that Seeing Ai is a "great" app that combines several utilities like Optical Character Recognition, product identification, and object recognition all in one.
The Seeing AI application offers a wide utility that guarantees users find everything that they need in a single place without having to explore other applications.
Related Article: Meta Is Building AI That Can 'Hear' What You're Hearing by Studying Brainwaves
