LEXINGTON, MA–After successfully launching the Pilot Phase of a highly innovative Artificial Intelligence powered device for the visually impaired – the Smart Vision Glasses, in late 2021, Vision-Aid is now kicking off the next phase.
This device will help the visually impaired and blind to function with more independence through the ability to read, recognize common objects, navigate their way through office and home environments and more, with the power of machine learning and computer vision built into a simple head-mounted spectacle frame.
Key players
Vision-Aid partners with SHG Technologies, a start-up based in Bengaluru, India which is bringing this “Made in India” cutting edge technology for the first time to Indian markets.
Founder and CEO of SHG Technologies, Mr. Ramu Muthangi said “Smart Vision would not be on the market today without the support of Vision-Aid. Vision-Aid’s support enabled us to design, develop and distribute the first two versions of Smart Vision, in 2021 and 2022, and we are very grateful to Vision-Aid and its supporters and partners, for helping us take the first, very important steps in this exciting journey.”
Another key player is Aravind Eye Hospital in Madurai, a global leader in eye care, which has a pivotal role in the early design and development of Smart Vision Glasses. Dr. P. Vijayalakshmi, founding trustee of Aravind Eye Care, who is a passionate advocate for cause of the visually impaired said “It has been very exciting for our team at Aravind to work with SHG Technologies and Vision-Aid to participate in the development of Smart Vision Glasses, which is really a revolutionary technology, and which we feel will bring immense value to our visually impaired patients.”
Several Vision-Aid partners are providing valuable feedback through early pilot rollouts underway currently. Locations for the initial roll out include the Aravind Eye Hospital Network, Sankara Nethralaya Chennai, Shroff Charity Eye Hospital Delhi, L.V.Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, Community Eye Care Foundation, Pune, Voluntary Health Services in Chennai, and several others. The short video below shows a short demo of the device, testimonials from users and locations where it is currently being rolled out:
Short Video about Smart Vision Glasses: https://youtu.be/1Bo1HPMzcWY
Key features
One of the most notable features is its affordability for the underprivileged by reducing the cost to under 1/10th (one-tenth) of the current alternatives. The affordability will substantially increase with increase in volumes that are projected in the coming years.
The SHG team is constantly updating the product to finesse the technology based on feedback received during the pilot roll out and another new and updated version is expected in August 2022. Other features which make it suitable for the Indian markets are its support for all major Indian languages and comprehensive testing of the product across India through Vision-Aid’s partners networks.
Key Supporters
The assembly of Smart Vision Gen 1.0 (in 2021) and Gen 2.0 (2022) was made possible by a grant from the Palakurthi Foundation of USA to Vision-Aid. Prashanth Palakurthi said “Anuradha and I had the pleasure of visiting one of Vision-Aid’s pivotal projects at the L.V. Prasad Eye Institute in Hyderabad, India and were deeply impressed with the work being done there. We are very pleased to support Vision-Aid’s amazing work and in particular, we are excited to support their latest, innovation – the AI-powered Smart Vision Glasses which has tremendous potential to apply the power of AI to help the visually impaired.”
In 2022, several other philanthropic and forward-thinking organizations and individuals are coming forward to support Smart Vision – this includes the Sushil Tuli Family Foundation which is generously sponsoring Smart Vision Glasses for the underprivileged visually impaired , the Trees for Life Foundation, which offers a matching grant, doubling its impact, Rotary Clubs across India – notably the Rotary Club of Madras East which has distributed hundreds of devices. as well as Dr(s). Suraja Menon & Debashish Roychowdhury. The list keeps growing and Vision-Aid is running a focused campaign to raise funds for this ground-breaking device in its upcoming annual event on July 31st which is set to rock Boston and Zoom. (More details of the event can be found at www.VisionAid.org/event ). Vision-Aid is encouraging all donors to take advantage of the generous matching grant offer to double the impact of their donation towards this device during this period.
Mr. Sushil Tuli, CEO of Leader Bank one of the key supporters of the visually impaired individuals said, “I am really excited with the potential of this innovation in the coming years. There are more than 5 million severely visually impaired and blind individuals in India alone. I can foresee a million or more being able to use these life changing glasses in the coming years. Thanks to Vision-Aid and its partners for leading the charge and transform the lives in ways that could not be imagined a few years ago.”
Lalit Sudan, President of Vision-Aid summed it up for the Vision-Aid team: “We are working collaboratively with many eminent Hospitals, Blind Schools, Social Societies like Rotary, Leading Ophthalmologists, Opticians and Indian and State Government Agencies. We are confident that through these partnerships and relationships we will be able to reach and help a substantial segment of the 5 million VI over the next five years. We are launching efforts to get the message out to the VI individuals so that they can benefit from the power of this “Seeing Eye” and join the ranks of contributing members of society in India. Our Vision is to reach a million in this decade.”
For more information about Smart Vision Glasses or Vision-Aid please visit: www.VisionAid.org . More information about SHG Technologies can be found at https://shgtechnologies.com/
