OrCam MyEye featured at Guelph Accessibility Conference
One of the products featured at the Guelph Accessibility Conference this year has the power to help people read. The OrCam MyEye is a portable and wearable artificial vision technology that is designed to fit on a pair of eyeglasses. It has a smart camera that assists people with visual impairment and blindness.
This innovative artificial vision technology can instantly and discreetly read printed text, from many surfaces.
The OrCam MyEye recognizes text on:
- Newspapers
- Books
- Computer and smartphone screens
- Restaurant menus
- Labels on supermarket products
- Currency
- Street signs
In order for the device to translate a certain text to audio, the wearer is required to point at an object; the gesture is then followed by a vocal adaptation of what is in front of the user. Currently, the device can communicate texts in French, English, Italian, German, and Hebrew.
A product demonstration was given at the Guelph Accessibility Conference by Nada Jorna, the regional sales manager for OrCam.While wearing the gadget, Jorna held out a bag of gummies, which had both the trademark and texts conducted in handwriting.Jorna explained that currently the device is not able to interpret handwriting, but users can just program a picture of the undecipherable product into the device. She added that this could be done with preferred logos so that the wearer is able to identify products they like.
The OrCam MyEye can also identify individual people by programming their faces into its memory drive. When standing in front of a person, you point in their direction and the device notifies you that you are face-to-face with another person. You can then tell the device to remember the person’s face if you want to recognize that person in the future.
Privacy concerns are addressed by storing information within the product itself rather than “in the cloud,” and it does not require wifi to function.
The OrCam MyEye offers users increased “self-reliance” in everyday tasks, according to a user on the product’s website.
Feature photo by Mariah Bridgeman/The Ontarion.