A Melbourne-based technology developer has been awarded $1 million in funding from the Australian Government to accelerate growth in developing Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions for blind and vision-impaired people worldwide.
RealThing Ai has developed what ii claims is a unique human dialogue and intelligent reasoning product, called RealSAM, for people living with low vision and blindness. It is delivered through voice activation said to control everyday technology such as mobile phones and smart speakers.
RealThing has partnered with leading organisations including Vision Australia, the US Library of Congress National Library Service and the UK Royal National Institute for Blind People.
The RealThing’s RealSAM platform and voice interface is said to have changed the lives of vision impaired users around the world. The funding will be used to further its solution and create a world first by installing the AI onto a mobile phone, so it can operate untethered to the internet. This will overcome the shortcomings of other assistants such as Apple’s Siri, which can only operate when connected to the cloud.
RealThing Ai CEO, Nick Howden said: “The funding will lead to significant Australian revenues and the creation of jobs in the high value areas of AI and MedTech, while also improving the quality of life of people living with sight loss”.
RealThing AI technology is powered by voice, giving people who are blind or vision-impaired the ability to search for audio books from libraries, newspapers, podcasts, talking magazines and radio stations using a voice activated smartphone or smart speaker.
For more information visit: www.realthing.com.au