OrCam Technologies leverages artificial intelligence to develop portable assistive devices, enhancing independence for individuals with visual impairments or reading challenges. These AI-driven tools, available in handheld and wearable formats, expand access to information and facilitate interaction with the environment
The OrCam MyEye 3 Pro, along with other OrCam MyEye devices, is a wearable device designed to empower individuals with visual impairments. This tool is more than just assistive technology; it’s also an AI companion that brings printed words to speech and helps users navigate their surroundings with confidence.
OrCam creates devices that make life easier for people facing different types of visual or reading challenges. Whether someone is blind, has low vision, or struggles with reading fatigue, these tools are designed to adapt to individual needs.
Understanding Vision Challenges
In the U.S., over 21 million people face vision impairments that standard glasses and contacts can’t correct. Traditional tools like magnifiers often fall short in truly addressing these challenges.
The OrCam MyEye 3 Pro, one of the latest devices created by OrCam, is designed to bridge this gap. It uses advanced technology to transform printed text into spoken words, making information from books, documents, street signs, and screens accessible to everyone.
The OrCam MyEye 3 Pro is designed with the social model of disability in mind, which highlights that disability results from the interaction between individuals and their environments. This can be especially challenging for individuals who have temporarily lost their vision or experienced gradual vision decline. The device supports individuals across the spectrum of visual impairments, enhancing their quality of life and enabling greater participation in social activities.
Tailoring Technology to Fit the User
The OrCam MyEye 3 Pro adapts to each user’s preferences for a more intuitive reading experience. Point with your finger to direct it to the text you want to read. You can set the reading speed and choose where to begin, customizing it to fit seamlessly into your daily activities.
The OrCam device clips onto a user’s glasses, capturing whatever they’re looking at within their view. It’s useful for tasks like reading a grocery list or figuring out street signs. Anyone using this device can just point to what they need to read, and OrCam audibly delivers the information, making day-to-day activities a bit easier to navigate. The device also summarizes and processes information, and can even answer any question a user might have.
AI-Powered Information Processing and Summarization
Beyond reading, the OrCam vision devices also process and understand information in real time. Imagine looking at an electric bill in the mail, you can use OrCam to point to the document and ask something like, “how much do I owe and when is this bill due?”. The device can read, analyze and process information, along with answer any questions a user may have. Or in a grocery store, it can identify items on the shelf instead of just telling a user what’s available. With digital and physical texts, it can summarize key points from a document, delivering the information a user needs without overwhelming them. Users can also ask the device follow up questions, or anything relevant to what the device has scanned and interpreted.
Through the medical mode of disability, the OrCam vision devices help people with all levels of vision impairment, from those with low vision to individuals with no vision at all. While it doesn’t ‘fix’ the impairment, it acts as assistive technology that enables people to live more independently in a world often built for those without vision challenges.
Solutions through Universal Design
Assistive technologies like screen readers, voice assistants, and magnification tools follow the principles of universal design, making them accessible to everyone, not just individuals with disabilities. For individuals with disabilities, it provides crucial tools to navigate everyday tasks independently, like reading text aloud or offering hands-free control. For everyone else, these tools, like smart glasses, voice assistants or text-to-speech software, offer convenience, multitasking capabilities, and more efficient ways to interact with technology.
Screen readers help those with visual impairments but are also useful for multitasking for people without disabilities. Voice assistants and text-to-speech software provide hands-free control and information access for anyone. Magnifiers and smart glasses assist with low vision but can benefit anyone needing easier access to information.
OrCam MyEye 3 Pro takes universal design further by combining these features into one device. It functions as a screen reader, magnifier, and smart glasses in one, reading text aloud, recognizing objects, and magnifying content. This makes OrCam a versatile and comprehensive solution for people with various visual needs, replacing the need for multiple devices while offering a more seamless experience.
Universal design is valuable because it promotes inclusivity by creating products accessible to everyone, regardless of ability. It benefits people with disabilities while also offering convenience to those without, ensuring greater usability and access for all.