Accenture develops AI-powered solution for visually impaired employees

drishti visually impaired
Image credit: Accenture

Accenture says it has developed a new artificial intelligence-powered solution to help the visually impaired improve the way they experience the world around them and enhance their productivity in the workplace.

The solution, called Drishti (which means “vision” in Sanskrit), provides smart phone-based assistance using AI-related technologies such as image recognition, natural language processing and natural language generation capabilities to describe the environment of a visually impaired person.

Initially developed and tested with ten blind professionals through a collaboration with the National Association for the Blind in India, the solution provides narration to the user on the number of people in a room, their ages, genders and even emotions based on facial expressions. It can also be used to identify and narrate text from books and documents, including currency notes, and identify obstructions like glass doors to improve the safety of the user.

Accenture says it plans to introduce Drishti to more than 100 visually impaired employees in India. The solution is currently being piloted at Accenture in South Africa, while a Spanish language version is being tested with Accenture employees in Argentina.

Paul Daugherty, chief technology and innovation officer at Accenture, said the solution is “a great illustration of how AI technology can empower humans by augmenting their capabilities so they can achieve more for themselves and the world around them.”

“Drishti is a powerful example of how advanced and emerging technologies can be used for good to address complex human challenges,” said Sanjay Podder, managing director of Accenture Labs in Bangalore, Accenture Tech4Good lead and Eisenhower Fellow. “By harnessing the rapid advancements in AI technology, we’ve demonstrated – through the pilot with the National Association for the Blind in India, as well as with Accenture’s own employees – the impact innovative solutions such as this can have on improving the way people live and work.”

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