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Portuguese project increases autonomy of the visually impaired
INESC TEC – Institute For Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science is developing a platform with ACAPO to improve the recognition of digital contents and real objects. Automatic Reading of texts and interpretation of objects in 3D will also be possible with the project.
The project CE4Blind (Context Extraction for the blind using computer vision) is being developed by João Barroso, researcher at INESC TEC and professor at UTAD, in collaboration with the Portuguese Association for the Visually Impaired (ACAPO). The goal is to integrate different solutions to increase the autonomy and inclusion of the visually impaired.
The platform will be designed in a way that will not make it necessary to change the routine of the visually impaired. Providing a natural interface, the platform will be used by a group of users, adapted to their needs and limitations.
Technologies for mobile devices and small cameras, such as Project Tango, SmartEyeglass, or smartphones with personalised apps that will be integrated in the solution developed, will make it possible to automatically read digital texts, including texts from the real world, such as those found in restaurant menus, food packages books, magazines or newspapers.
The platform will be
available for computers and mobile devices, according to INESC TEC. This
project follows a research line pursued at the institute since 2008 through a
collaboration with the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin).