Signal 2: Developing A.I. wearables for the blind and partially sighted
This article is about AiServe, a German start-up building machine learning systems to help visually impaired people better navigate their cities (Wiggers, 2018). AiServe is developing a unique system consisting of a wearable device with a camera, microphone and battery. As the device digests new visual data, it adapts to recognizing sidewalks, corners, and pathways to map out entire city blocks and neighborhoods. Then, it gives users aural and other cues to help them navigate their cities.
The biggest hurdle for users is the exorbitant prices for the first production model which is set to ship within a year. At almost $3000 dollars, chances are the technology will be accessible for only wealthier nations and individuals. While the company claims it will partner with healthcare and insurance providers in each country, the organizations might be wary of untested devices like this. Foreseeably, the situation in the developing markets is even more nuanced. Disabled and impaired people in emerging economies have even less social mobility and government support than their counterparts from the developed world (Mitra, 2011).
One way to work through this would be to partner up with influential organizations like Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. These foundations have vast resources, connections, talent, and most importantly, track records of bringing projects of such magnitude to live. As such foundations often cite global inclusivity as one of their goals, I can see them interested in AiServe’s ambitious plans to make cities accessible for visually-impaired individuals.
References
Wiggers, K. (2018, September 1). AiServe is developing assistive AI that ‘learns to walk like a human’. VentureBeat. Retrieved September 23, 2018 from https://venturebeat.com
Mitra, S., Posarac, A., & Vick, B. (2011). Disability and Poverty in Developing Countries : A Snapshot from the World Health Survey. World Bank Social Protection Discussion
