New Technology Helps Blind People Shop

A new technology has been developed to help blind people locate objects. (AFP)
A new technology has been developed to help blind people locate objects. (AFP)
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New Technology Helps Blind People Shop

A new technology has been developed to help blind people locate objects. (AFP)
A new technology has been developed to help blind people locate objects. (AFP)

Researchers at the US Caltech Institute have used augmented reality hardware and computer vision algorithms to create a new technique to guide those who have lost their vision.

The technique allows various objects found in a place to "talk" and inform the blind individual of their nature, reported the German news agency.

The new technology, dubbed CARA, utilizes different sounds to define each of the objects found in the room in order to avoid any confusion that may face the user. It also uses different sound levels to indicate the space between the user and the object. It defines the close objects with a loud sound, while it uses low sound for far objects.

CARA is worn as a portable headset, and translates the optical world into plain English audio.

The device could be used in banks, grocery stores, museums and other locations, to help blind people make their way through unfamiliar spaces.

The TechXplore website cited researcher Markus Meister, who said: "Imagine you are in a world where all the objects around you have voices and can speak to you. Wherever you point your gaze, the different objects you focus on are activated and speak their names to you.”

CARA is still in its early stages, but will benefit from the rapid development of algorithms for computer vision.

The researchers hope that places like banks, hotels and shopping malls will offer CARA devices for use by their blind customers.



Adobe Adds AI Tools to its Stock Photography Business

Figurines are seen in front of the Adobe logo in this illustration taken June 13, 2022. (Reuters)
Figurines are seen in front of the Adobe logo in this illustration taken June 13, 2022. (Reuters)
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Adobe Adds AI Tools to its Stock Photography Business

Figurines are seen in front of the Adobe logo in this illustration taken June 13, 2022. (Reuters)
Figurines are seen in front of the Adobe logo in this illustration taken June 13, 2022. (Reuters)

Adobe on Tuesday added software tools that let its customers use artificial intelligence to create images based on its library of stock images, while still paying the original creators of those images.

Adobe, the company behind tools such as Photoshop that are widely used in the content creation business, has been rushing to add AI tools to its software as it faces image generation technology from newer firms such as OpenAI. Adobe's strategy has been to ensure that content it generates is legally safe to use in commercial work and to compensate artists, Reuters reported

The tools released Tuesday let customers start with a stock image from Adobe's collection then modify it with AI to meet their needs. The creator of the original image is compensated as if their unmodified original image was used.

Matthew Smith, vice president at Adobe for strategy, design and emerging products, said that while some Adobe users like to generate images from text prompts, many customers want conventional stock imagery modified a bit for their specific purpose.

"A majority of people still have a blank canvas problem," Smith told Reuters. "Generative AI is not replacing stock (imagery). It's not replacing creatives or contributors. It's enhancing and giving them more potential opportunity to increase their earnings."