Microsoft collaborates with Be My Eyes for AI solutions assisting vision impaired individuals
Be My Eyes, a technology firm dedicated to assisting individuals with visual impairments, reports that there are approximately 340 million people globally who are either blind or have low vision. Today, the company has revealed a partnership with Microsoft aimed at enhancing the capabilities of Microsoft’s AI models to better serve this community.
In a recent announcement from Be My Eyes, it was disclosed that the company would be supplying video data to Microsoft to aid in the training of its AI algorithms. The statement included:
The video datasets represent the real-life experiences of individuals from the blind and low-vision community, and will be utilized to refine the accuracy and detail of scene comprehension and descriptions, ultimately enhancing the practical applications of AI for those with vision impairments.
The company clarified that only video data will be exchanged under this new agreement with Microsoft. It will also ensure the removal of any metadata linked to the videos that could reveal user or account information. Furthermore, the video data will exclusively be used for training Microsoft’s AI models and will not be employed for marketing or any other services.
In a related blog post from Microsoft, further insights were shared regarding the application of generative AI to assist individuals with disabilities at large. Microsoft, teaming up with other tech giants including Apple, Google, Meta, and Amazon, is collaborating with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign on the Speech Accessibility Project.
This initiative aims to gather data to enhance AI models focused on speech recognition for individuals with disabilities, such as those suffering from ALS. The post emphasized:
This data enables AI models to grasp a wider array of speech diversity, expanding scenarios where this technology can provide advantages — including boosting the accuracy of non-standard speech data in popular speech platforms like Azure Speech. The project is advancing AI technologies for people with disabilities by incorporating varied data and perspectives into the development pathway.
Neither Microsoft nor Be My Eyes provided any financial specifics regarding this new partnership in their press releases.
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