Back in 2017, Microsoft announced a new app called Seeing AI. The app was a game changer for the entire blind and low vision community.

What is Seeing AI?

Seeing AI is an artificial intelligence application developed by Microsoft for iOS. The app uses the device camera to identify people and objects, and then audibly describes those objects for people with visual impairment.

What this app is used for?

Seeing AI is used mainly to describe short text, documents, products, people, currency scenery, colors, handwriting and light. The app also can scan a barcode to describe a product and uses sounds to assist the user in focusing on the barcode. When describing people, the app attempts to estimate the person's age, gender, and emotional status. Basic functions are performed on the device, however more complex ones such as describing a scene or recognizing handwriting require an Internet connection.

Seeing AI New Update

Since Seeing AI's first days, Microsoft has added several new features to the app. Today,  a new update was released (v3.1) for Seeing AI app in Apple App Store. This update comes with a new "battery saver" mode which will make the app stop recognizing if nothing is found for a certain period of time. The app will again start the recognition process once the phone is moved.

Other highlights for this release

Increased field of view on the Document channel

With this support, for scanning a document, the phone doesn't need to be as far away from the document as before.

This update also comes with a number of bug fixes and internal improvements.

Downloading/updating Seeing AI

You can update/download the app by visiting this link.