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machine learning

Apple adds People Detection’ accessibility feature in iOS 14.2 Beta

Apple has included a new accessibility feature in the latest release of the iOS 14.2 beta called People Detection, which is a part of the Magnifier app.

It uses augmented reality and machine learning to detect where humans and objects are in space. The addition was first spotted in a September report by Juli Clover of MacRumors.

The purpose of People Detection is to aid blind and low vision users in navigation; this type of application is-suited for the LiDAR sensor in iPhone 12 Pro. The goal is to help the visually impaired understand their surroundings—examples include knowing how many people there are in the checkout line at the grocery store, how close one is standing to the end of the platform at the subway station, and finding an empty seat at a table. Another use case is in this era of social distancing; the software can tell you if you’re within six feet of another person in order to maintain courtesy and safety. read more

Microsoft’s Project Tokyo Helps Visually Impaired Users ‘See with Modified HoloLens

In an effort to provide assistance where it can, Microsoft in 2016 launched Project Tokyo, a partnership among researchers in the U.S., U.K., China, Japan, and India to explore technologies that might help those with impairments interact with the world around them.

Four years later, it’s borne fruit with a device — a modified version of Microsoft’s HoloLens augmented reality headset — imbued with algorithms that provide info about people within the wearer’s surroundings.

According to a blog post published by Microsoft, the research group began by following athletes and spectators with varying levels of vision on a trip from the U.K. to the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, observing how they interacted with other people as they navigated airports, attended sporting venues, and went sightseeing, among other activities. Machine learning experts on the Project Tokyo team then developed the aforementioned algorithms, which run on graphical processing units housed in a PC connected to a HoloLens from which the front lenses have been removed. read more

White Eye Detector Can Detect Eye Disease In Children By Scanning Their Photos

Scientists have developed a smartphone app that is capable of detecting the early signs of eye disease by analyzing photos of children.

The White Eye Detector is a free app that uses machine learning to look for “white eye” reflections (called leukocoria) that could hint at cataract, retinoblastoma, and other diseases.

While the app, which is now available on Android and iOS, can be used by anyone regardless of age, it can especially help children who may not be able to communicate that they experience vision issues. read more

Ask Chloe to Read the Label on Your Prescription Bottles

A recent collaboration between the AT&T Foundry for Connected Health (located in the Texas Medical Center Innovation Institute) and Aira, which makes smart glasses for people who are blind or have low vision, now has a solution to reading the tiny print on prescription bottles.

How it works
Aira’s remote assistive technology connects smart glasses called “explorers”—with a network of certified agents via an augmented reality dashboard. The agents serve as visual interpreters, helping users accomplish a wide range of activities. read more

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