Hong Kong innovator Lamia Sreya Rahman has led the way in creating an AI-powered wearable device to ensure people with visual impairments, such as her father and neighbours, can navigate the world with dignity.
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Rahman, co-founder of AI start-up Seekr, said most assistive devices for the visually impaired focused on technology over dignity.
“I spoke to people with visual impairment, and they told me clearly they dislike carrying around or wearing bulky devices that make them feel stigmatised,” she said.
Their comments helped shape the team’s design philosophy, with their compact wearable bodycam avoiding features such as heavy glasses or awkward headsets and being able to be clipped to the wearer’s chest in a manner similar to a GoPro.
“We wanted it to be light enough for daily use, but solid enough that users know it hasn’t fallen. It had to feel normal, like something anyone would carry,” she said.
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Seekr uses artificial intelligence and a 154-degree field of view to describe surroundings in real time. It is able to identify obstacles and objects within three seconds and has a 95 per cent accuracy rate.