Seeing AI
Seeing AI is a productivity application developed by Microsoft Corporation that serve as a visual aid for the blind and low vision communit...
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What is Seeing AI?
Seeing AI is a free mobile app developed by Microsoft that narrates the world around you for blind and low vision users. Designed with and for the blind and low vision community, this ongoing research project harnesses AI to open up the visual world by describing nearby people, text, and objects.
The app provides eight key tools for daily tasks: Read (hear text instantly with document alignment audio cues), Describe (take photos for rich descriptions and explore by touching the screen), Products (scan barcodes and accessible QR codes with audio beeps), People (save photos to recognize friends/coworkers later with age, gender, and expression estimates), Currency (recognize currency notes), Colors (identify colors), Light (hear audible tones for brightness levels), and Photos/Videos in other apps (share media from Mail, Photos, WhatsApp for AI description).
Seeing AI is specifically intended for persons who are blind or visually impaired to augment their understanding of their physical environment through audio and haptic feedback. It supports 18 languages including English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Korean, and more, with plans to expand to 36 languages.
Seeing AI pricing
Pricing model: Free
Seeing AI is completely free to download and use. There are no paid plans, subscriptions, or premium tiers. The app is available for free from both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. All features including Read, Describe, Products, People, Currency, Colors, Light, and cross-app photo/video recognition are included in the free version with no additional costs.
Seeing AI pros
- Completely free app with no paid plans or subscriptions
- Reads text instantly as soon as it appears in front of the camera
- Document alignment provides audio cues for proper page positioning
- Rich photo descriptions with interactive touch exploration
- Audio beeps guide users to locate barcodes and QR codes accurately
- People recognition saves photos to identify friends and coworkers later
- Estimates age, gender, and facial expression of people
- Recognizes multiple currency types including USD, CAD, GBP, and Euros
- Identifies colors quickly by pointing the camera
- Light detector translates brightness to audible tone pitch
- Works with photos and videos from Mail, Photos, WhatsApp via share feature
- Available on both iOS and Android devices
- Supports 18 languages with expanding language support
- No data collected or shared with third parties for privacy
- Fast processing time for quick daily task assistance
- Effective even with out-of-focus or slightly misaligned text
- Scans product barcodes to announce product names and package info
- Original text formatting preserved when reading documents
Seeing AI cons
- Accuracy varies and is not always precise (AI produces probabilistic outputs)
- Should not be used as primary or exclusive technology for learning about environment
- Not designed for detection, diagnosis, monitoring, or treatment of medical conditions
- Money reader cannot scan coins, only currency notes
- Face scanner struggles with individuals not facing camera directly
- Face scanner age estimation can be inaccurate
- General image scanning accuracy around 30% for some content
- No data encryption for collected information
- Data cannot be deleted by users
- UI can be clunky for some users
- Text recognition language locked to device system language
- No automatic language detection for scanned text
- No built-in translation service integration
- Camera issues reported on some foldable devices
- Support response times can be slow
Frequently asked questions about Seeing AI
What is Seeing AI and what does it do?
Seeing AI is a free mobile app developed by Microsoft that narrates the world around you for blind and low vision users. It uses the device camera and AI to identify and describe people, text, objects, products, currency, colors, and light levels, providing audio feedback to help users understand their visual environment.
Is Seeing AI free to use?
Yes, Seeing AI is completely free. There are no paid plans, subscriptions, or premium features. All functionality including reading text, describing photos, scanning products, recognizing people, identifying currency and colors, and detecting light is available without any cost.
What devices does Seeing AI work on?
Seeing AI is available for both iOS devices (iPhone and iPad) and Android devices. Users should ensure their device is running the latest version of iOS or Android for optimal performance. The app has over 100,000 downloads on Google Play.
How many languages does Seeing AI support?
Seeing AI is available in 18 languages including Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian Bokmal, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish. Microsoft plans to increase support to 36 languages in 2024.
Can Seeing AI recognize faces and people?
Yes, the People feature lets users save photos of friends and coworkers to recognize them later. The app provides estimates of a person's age, gender, and facial expression. However, it may struggle to recognize individuals who aren't facing the camera directly.
Does Seeing AI work with currency from different countries?
Yes, Seeing AI recognizes currency notes from multiple countries including US dollars, Canadian dollars, British pounds, and Euros. The app was updated in December 2017 to add currency recognition for these four currency types.
How does the barcode scanner work for products?
The Products feature uses audio beeps to guide users to locate barcodes and accessible QR codes. When scanned, the app announces the product name and provides package information when available. The audio beeping helps users focus on the barcode for accurate scanning.
Is Seeing AI accurate and reliable?
Seeing AI uses AI to produce probabilistic outputs that vary in accuracy depending on where and how it is used. The app is not always accurate and should not be used in situations where users could be harmed. It is intended to augment existing awareness, not replace it entirely.
Can I use Seeing AI with photos from other apps?
Yes, users can tap 'Share' and 'Recognize with Seeing AI' to describe media from Mail, Photos, WhatsApp, and other apps. This allows Seeing AI to provide descriptions of photos and videos even when they originate from outside the app.
How do I contact Microsoft for support or feedback?
Users can email [email protected] for questions, feedback, or feature requests. For support with the application or incident reporting, users can contact the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk at the same email address. Paper copies of the user manual are provided at no cost within 7 days.