Be My Eyes - Leveraging Generative AI to help the blind and visually impaired people by Danushka

Project aims to build an affordable personal assistant device for blind and visually impaired people using Generative AI and edge computing

Device requirements:

• Must be portable/wearable with self-contained power
• Needs camera input and text-to-speech capabilities
• Should have minimal, touch-friendly interface
• Must be affordable since many blind people have limited financial resources

Technical implementation options:

• Raspberry Pi-based solution with local LLMs
• Smartphone-based application leveraging built-in capabilities
• Integration with streaming platforms like Red Panda/Kafka for scalability

Key features:

• Real-time image/video description
• Natural language interaction
• Hazard detection and warnings
• Geofencing and location awareness
• Integration with medical monitoring systems

Current challenges:

• Running large vision-capable LLMs on edge devices
• Balancing performance with cost
• Internet connectivity requirements
• Model optimization for resource-constrained environments

Future potential applications:

• AI-assisted body cameras for rescue workers
• Remote patient monitoring
• Assistance for elderly care
• Personal navigation support

Focus on social inclusion through affordable, practical technology rather than complex research solutions

Project emphasizes sustainability through open-source components and local processing where possible

Integration capabilities with healthcare systems and monitoring solutions for comprehensive care

Design prioritizes enhanced audio cognition capabilities of blind users and natural interaction patterns