This Wearable Camera ‘Sees’ For Blind People

A start-up has developed a matchbox-sized wearable camera that “sees” for visually-impaired people.

The “Seekr” wearable camera, which is being developed by Hong Kong-based startup Vidi Labs, is a compact AI-powered device designed to assist visually impaired individuals by audibly describing their surroundings.

The Seekr can be clipped onto the user’s clothing or held in one hand. It features a depth-sensing camera, microprocessor, battery, and Bluetooth module, which pairs with a smartphone app to provide voice cues through a Bluetooth earpiece.

The Seekr is connected to the user’s smartphone and leverages the power of AI to provide them with information regarding what’s around them.

According to a report by New Atlas, users can switch between four AI-based operating modes, all of which are activated by pressing a button on the Seekr to capture a photograph. Scene mode describes the environment around the wearer.

Depth mode guides hand movements to locate and grasp specific objects by guiding their hand movements. Supermarket mode identifies common grocery items such as “bread” or “apples.” Meanwhile, Text mode reads out words from signs or packaging.

In a video published by Vidi Labs, the company shows how the Seekr can give descriptions such as “two people sitting on a bench at your 12 o’clock.” The camera’s depth perception also means that the Seekr can voice descriptions like “stairs in one meter.”

There is currently a waitlist for the Seekr on the company’s website. The device is reportedly priced at $700 (6,000 Hong Kong dollars), with the cost including a one-year subscription to the app that connects to the device.

New Atlas reports that Vidi Labs director Turzo Bose came up with the idea for the Seekr camera in 2020 during the pandemic. With social distancing in place, his visually impaired grandfather was unable to rely on sighted companions to describe his surroundings. Bose recognized the need for a device that could fill that gap.

Previously, PetaPixel reported on AiSee, a discreet wearable camera that combines a 13-megapixel camera with a bone conductive speaker that can identify objects a wearer is holding. The device, which was developed by researchers at the University of Singapore, is meant to be especially useful for blind grocery shoppers.

Image credits: All photos and video via Seekr.