Microsoft has expanded its Seeing AI app to Android to help blind and visually impaired users. The app allows users to navigate their environment by identifying and describing people, objects, text, and other elements. It can also read text aloud, scan and display documents, identify products using a barcode reader, describe the surrounding environment in a photo, and analyze the value of currency.
The Android version of the app has been updated with richer image descriptions, the ability to ask more questions about scanned documents, and support for 18 different languages. Microsoft plans to expand support to 36 languages in 2024.
The app’s founder, Saqib Shaikh, who is himself blind, emphasized the importance of bringing the app to the Android platform to reach a wider audience of users. The expansion was launched in celebration of International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) and is part of Microsoft’s ongoing efforts to improve and enhance the app based on user feedback.
