It is now simpler to run our daily lives, thanks to artificial intelligence. AI can help people with disabilities by significantly enhancing their capacity to get around and take part in daily activities by automating tasks that ordinarily require human intelligence, such as speech and voice recognition, visual perception, predictive text functionality, decision-making, and a variety of other tasks.
The development of interactive tools that support independence and physical accessibility can be made simpler by artificial intelligence (AI), which has the potential to significantly improve the lives of persons with disabilities. Let’s take a closer look at a few of the practical uses of artificial intelligence in this area and how they might be applied to assist individuals with impairments in various ways.
Human interaction and communication
Access to voice-assist technology like Echo, Google Home, and Alexa is now possible for those with disabilities. People with disabilities can now access information much more readily by speaking to their gadgets because artificial intelligence is so crucial to communication and interaction.
The development of text-to-speech and speech-to-text technologies benefits those with speech impairments. Voice systems, like Voiceitt, can gradually learn how to pronounce words and translate them into crystal-clear, normalized speech for use in text or audio messages. In-person communication between people with speech impairments could potentially be facilitated by the app.
AI developments have also made it possible to develop tools that improve the quality of life for those who have hearing loss. One of the top suppliers of AI-powered platforms is GnoSys, called “Google Translator for the Deaf and Mute.” The artificial intelligence-powered app instantaneously translates hand motions or sign language into text and audio using neural networks and computer vision.
A system that accurately decodes full words has been created by DeepMind, a Google division, using lip-reading algorithms. Approximately 5000 hours of different television programs and over 118.000 sentence analyses were used to train the algorithm. The study produced a system that can recognize human voices in a range of noisy and dimly lit settings, including public areas.
People with poor vision can also benefit significantly from artificial intelligence.
AI can interpret the context of items in pictures and describe them to people using image recognition technologies. A wonderful example of a computer vision platform like this is Microsoft’s Seeing AI, which describes the world to visually impaired people by reading documents, describing how they look and identifying faces and emotions. Another ground-breaking AI-based tool for blind and visually impaired persons, OrCam, rapidly transmits visual information in response to voice commands. The device can recognize faces, identify objects, colors, and other images, and read aloud words from books, newspapers, smartphone displays, or any other printed or digital surface. It provides a new level of independence by enabling blind people to accomplish various tasks independently.
Independent at-home habitation
Those with restricted mobility might really benefit from smart home technologies. They can virtually control every element of their house, including turning on and off the lights, regulating the thermostat, turning off the stove, and playing music, using simple voice commands that enable them to express what they need and ask for the information they are looking for. People with impairments can benefit greatly from AI-assisted smart home technology, which can help them move around the house more easily and enable more independent living.
Great software for helping persons with disabilities is Amazon Alexa, which offers voice interaction, alarms and reminders, music, to-do lists, and real-time information. For people with mobility issues, the Smart Doorbell smart gadget may be very helpful because it enables them to open or unlock the door and observe who is at the door via a monitoring screen. People with disabilities can benefit from and use smart home appliances like smart lights, smart curtains, smart garage openers, and smart thermostats, which make daily life easier. Smart lighting allows for remote control of light levels and on/off switching for the home. With the help of smart garage openers, homeowners may operate their garage door from anywhere. With the help of a smart thermostat, you can maintain a suitable temperature in your house at all times by using a range of features.
Making things more accessible
The use of AI technology can aid those with physical limitations. The AI for Accessibility program from Microsoft uses artificial intelligence to develop solutions for the various physical and mental difficulties that people with disabilities encounter at work and in daily life, enabling them to take part more fully in society. The goal of Microsoft’s program is to boost the productivity and independence of persons with disabilities in the workplace, daily life, and communication.
AI-powered self-driving automobiles and other autonomous modes of transportation hold out great freedom of movement for disabled people who are housebound. Thanks to artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles created by Google’s Waymo, Uber, Lyft, Drive AI, and other companies could end such people’s physical isolation and encourage a more sociable lifestyle. Driverless cars enable disabled persons to venture outside, navigate their neighborhoods, engage with others, and even look for employment. Once completely adopted into society, autonomous vehicles may enable individual mobility and greater accessibility that is catered to each user’s capabilities and wants.
AI-powered solutions will considerably assist people with impairments in their daily lives and provide them the chance to master new skills. Aiding disabled persons using AI technology creates unprecedented accessibility, social inclusion, and independent living opportunities that would be challenging or impossible to attain otherwise. As AI develops, more sophisticated and creative solutions may be made available to address the most difficult problems faced by individuals with disabilities and to enable greater participation for them.
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