[Nd-talk] FW: [ATI] Article: Microsoft's Seeing AI app for the blind now reads handwriting (fwd)

[Sherry Shirek]

Check it out!!! 
Sherry
-----Original Message-----
From: ATI [mailto:ati-bounces at moblind.org] On Behalf Of Christopher Gray
Sent: Thursday, December 14, 2017 11:34 AM
To: ati at moblind.org
Subject: [ATI] [leadership] Article: Microsoft's Seeing AI app for the blind
now reads handwriting (fwd)
Microsoft's Seeing AI app for the blind now reads handwriting The updated
iOS app is available in 35 countries.
Article Link:
https://www.engadget.com/2017/12/14/microsoft-seeing-ai-app-update/
Artificial intelligence took center stage at Microsoft's AI Summit in San
Francisco on Wednesday. Aside from announcing AI
smarts<https://www.engadget.com/2017/12/13/microsoft-cortana-suggests-follow
-up-tasks/> for a range of software -- from
Bing<https://www.engadget.com/2017/12/13/microsoft-improved-ai-search-featur
es-bing/> to Office
365<https://www.engadget.com/2017/12/13/microsoft-adds-more-ai-smarts-office
-365/> -- the tech titan is also ramping up its Seeing AI
app<https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/accessibility/2017/12/13/seeing-ai-new-
features/> for iOS, which uses computer vision to audibly help blind and
visually impaired people to see the world around them. According to
Microsoft, it's nabbed 100,000 downloads since its launch in the US earlier
this year, which convinced the tech titan to bring it to 35 countries in
total, including the EU.
It's also getting a bunch of new features. The app now boasts more currency
recognition, adding British pounds, US dollars, Canadian dollars, and Euros
to its tally. Going beyond the color in a scene, it can also spot the color
of specific objects, like clothes. Plus, it's no longer restricted to just
short printed text, with handwriting recognition now part of its skill set.
You can also customize the voice that it uses to speak its observations out
loud, and set how fast it talks.
Finally, a musical light detector alerts you to the light in an environment
with an audible tone -- Microsoft claims the tool will save users from
having to touch a hot bulb or LED battery to check if it's on. Despite the
big update, there's still no word on an Android launch.