Category: Cell Phone Talk
Was not sure whether to put this here or accessible devices. Microsoft just launched Seeing AI, which combines a real-time (and incredibly fast) short text reader, document OCR scanner, bar code scanner, facial recognition and object recognition in one. it's extremely easy to use and at least in terms of the quick text and facial recognizer, works ridiculously well, especially considering this is version 1.0. I was able to walk around a mall, point my phone at certain store signs and have my phone nearly instantly read the vast majority of them. I even pointed it at the menus of Subway and it read quite a bit; definetly enough to tell me what eatery I was at. I think an app like this will only get better as the AI gets more intelligent. Would not recommend this for private documents, but for everything else? Test it for yourself and report back.
I was going to ask about this, actually, but you beat me to it.
I'm going to wait just a bit, see what people think, then have a play with it. I strongly suspect this is going to replace older apps like Tap Tap See and the like, particularly if it's as accurate as you say it is.
I do have one small concern, of course, and that is a simple one. I'm not actually sure where things like mall signs and restaurant signs are, nor how large the camera's field of vision is. I suppose this is easier when you have a bit of usable vision, but I suppose a bit of trial and error might serve well too.
iPhone auto focuses, so no worry about the field of vision.
I've just learned about the app, so will be downloading it to see what I think.
I've really not gotten hooked on these type apps, but that is mostly because I've gotten a system worked out before they were available, so it is kind of like, I've got to go get the phone to do what I already have done. Laughing. I'm not one of these people that carries his phone around in my house, and when out, well, I try to forget about it unless I need to set up a ride, or I'm sitting alone and wish to play, or text, read emails. When they work, they are really slick however.
I'm gonna get this and add it to the Bionic Eye folder of apps on my phone. I'm like Wayne, grown up before these came along, but I also do find I use them. Especially when sorting things that aren't mine, knowing what packet of food is the daughter's veggie terrior,, I mean vegetarian, food and what's my normal man food lol
It's far faster than tap tap see if nothing else. The scene description functionality is still in beta, and they urge feedback. But it's pretty good. The quick text can even read stuff on a computer/tv screen, so that's really nice. Honestly it's worth the asking price just for quick text alone (it's free). If nothing else, it's nice at work when I'm sorting through mail to just point my phone at an envelope and have it instantly tell me what is on it. Otherwise I have to use a magnification app and it just takes longer.
On an iPhone 7 it's ridiculously fast when doing short text and even document. I tried out some of the facial recognition aspects and found them really cool! For a free app, it's incredible!
Hell, for a paid app it's pretty incredible. Especially if they keep working on it. A way to freeze an image during quick text for instance would be really helpful.
I have an iPhone 6+. I wonder how much difference this will make, as I don't really plan to upgrade any time soon.
You'll be good. The 6 has plenty power. Give it a go.
Guys, I just tried this on an iPhone 6, a bit less powerful than the 6 plus.
Worked amazingly well. I tried everything except for the person option.
It calls my bass amplifier a computer, but properly identified the color on my bass. Most these apps call it a guitar because it's got five strings and not 4, I think. Because my P which I gave to my niece was a 4, and they usually said bass.
Scanning mail with this is going to be rad.
I need to see if it gets the name of controls on the amp, because I'll be playing through someone else's bass amp at rehearsal and that would be cool not to need someone to tell me the controls, though of course we usually tweak that stuff by ear anyhow.
This kind of thing just gives us more autonomy.
I'd say the document reader is pretty comparable to KNFB reader. Sorry NFB people, all greatest respect to your app. I'm sure I'll still use it and all. And I couldn't possibly regret having spent a hundred bucks for it, for all the jams it's gotten me out of, including those you claim not to support such as reading messages off a screen or a control panel, hell I got it to read part of a meter system at one point.
Speaking of, if you have no Internet connection. NFB's app will still work while Seeing AI wouldn't. The app is just the pickup and dropoff, the servers do all the work.
At least I suspect, based on what it's doing here.
The scene stuff is amazing.
I actually found the scene description to be the weakest aspect, but then again it's only a beta, and they warn people about that. You should be able to use quick text to read labels on buttons, providing they aren't written in some elaborate font. Between this and Prismo Go though, I'm not sure why anyone would pay over a hundred bucks for the KNFB reader honestly. It was amazing when it first came out, but there are a lot of comparable lower cost (or sometimes no cost) options now.
This app is really amazing. I have been testing it out a bit here at the NFB convention, and was able to find some of the meeting rooms with it. The barcode reading also works well, much better than digit eyes in my opinion. Give it a try, it's free.
HI, so I caught this app on twitter, now put it through personal testing. The app was able to pick up my bag, ran the barcode scanning feature on some cookies. It was a 99% accuracy on both the bag and cookies. Can wait for Seeing AI to reach android.
I heard about SeeingAI the other day and as someone who has motor issues with my hands/holding the phone stable and such, I don't find SeeingAI easy to use. As far as a bar code scanner, it's easier for me to use my ID Mate Galaxy that is bigger and therefore easier to hold. Glad this has been helpful to some though.
This app is truly amazing. I like how it gives feedback when something is processing, so you know what's happening. It can only get better.
This is why I love the Zone! Thanks, I wouldn't have known about this app, otherwise.
I just tried it, and it's a keeper! It made friends with me right away by telling me that I'm a 19-year-old woman with dark hair, with a neutral expression...or however it was worded. A second try told me I'm 23! Flatterer. I'm actually 44. Haha
Sweet. hahaha.
Yes Chelsea, a steady hand really does help, especially with quick text. I think the bar code reader is pretty forgiving though, but if you already h ave the device that does reading, fantastic. What I would really like to wsee is maybe a freeze button on quick text along with some image stabilization which I think would make reading way easier.
I installed this app.
It read the label on a package I received nicely, but on a few other task, it times out for some reason.
I got an arror message and was invited to tell Microsoft about it, so I did so they can fix it.
I’ll play with it some more.
The musics cute. Laughing.
What device are you using? I've never had it time out before. I have had it crash out completely, but that was only on the IOS 11 Beta on my Ipad.
iPhone 7.
Seems to have some flaw, but it doesn't say why.
I might remove it, then reinstall it.
That might fix it.
Read that package good.
I thought it was supposed to tell you about things, like the color of a shirt, but I was wrong.
I guess it doesn't have that feature.
Scene description is still, still in beta. it's got a ways to go I'm sure before it is able to identify color. Developers really suggest feedback so they can keep improving it. There's a feedback section under settings.
Yes, I see that, but maybe asking for to many features clouds the apps ability to work on what it now does?
Should an app like this cover all the bases do we think?
What music are you referring to Wayne? I've been playing with this app ever since I first posted about it and I've never heard it make music. I do love it though.
Usually when you scan a document or use object/facial recognition; really anything that makes the app have to work, it should play music.
Interesting. It does not play music for me.
So what's interesting about this app.
If you've seen before, you're likely to pick up on things it misses. For those of us who have never seen before, the scene is itself interesting, and more than we usually ever got so.
These types of things always fascinate me, because you have what I think of as 3 groups of people:
People who've never seen before and were born before technology, people who have seen before, no matter when they were born, and blind people who've never seen but were born in the technology era, e.g. millennials.
I think all three probably have importaqnt contributions to make, but the last two groups may have the most important feedback.
People who have seen before obviously know what can be from a personal standpoint. It's not just an intellectual exercise in what-if for them. People born after technology -- millennials -- usually push the envelope in this space precisely because they're not like those of us born and raised before the Internet.
Us, those who have never seen, and were raised before the Internet, frankly are just glad when even the slightest improvement comes along. That doesn't always make for the most constructive feedback.
And I very frequently find I see the same patterns.
Wayne, you're kind of an outlier, as you used to see, but in many ways act like us who never have but were raised before the Internet. I know you were raised before the Internet too, but many who used to see aren't quite like us, glad just to get any possible edge.
People who used to see aren't ungrateful, don't get the wrong idea. It's just that their feedback on certain things is particularly important in that they lived a reality us total lifers have only as an intellectual exercise.
Millennials are so used to technology that they're very hard to impress. Which means if you impressed a millennial, you obviously did something pretty cool.
I think often those of us lifers who were born and raised before the Internet, navigated a much smaller space in some ways, having little to no technology, can be the least useful when it comes to feedback. Simply because if we get even something, that's a huge distance from the nothing we used to get.
If you've never had nothing, then the distance is a lot less, and a lot different.
It's all a matter of perspective I guess, but these are my observations of what I see now, since I've been poking around in the blind spaces online for the past ten years.
Would someone please explain to me what the scene option is? I don't understand what it's for.
It's in beta at the moment. Essentially it's like tap tap see or any of those varients: it describes what the camera is seeing. it's just ... not ... great at the moment.
How do I save the photos it takes?
I've used it to help me line up a document that I need to send to someone, but it doesn't allow me to share the photo. It only shares an HTML version of the text it recognized.
Don't believe you can share the actual photo of the document you scan; just the text. But but on the bottom left of the screen (swipe left from share) is a save photo button.
Also Chelsea, if your phone is on mute, it might not play the music.
My phone is not on mute but maybe I'm experiencing a weird bug that no one else is experiencing. That's been known to happen from time to time.
Well, this app is new, and I've experienced a couple things too.
Give it time.
If I don't scan, just turn it on and show it something quick, it reads like a champ.
I just updated it, so will play some more.
I believe you can turn feedback on or off, so that be the music?
I tried pausing and resuming the announcements but I'll give it time. Maybe it will work as it's intended to eventually.
The "save" button only appears if no text is recognized.
Ooh, I'm gonna get VR to buy me this.
I thought it was free.
it is free.
Huh? It says in the help thing that there's a bar code reader channel, but it doesn't show up.
Ooh, interesting thoughts, Leo, post 27. I'm a pre-tech total, so... yeah, grateful to have most of these things, now. I also realize, rather frequently, much to my own extreme frustration, that I am incapable of explaining to website creators and such what is inaccessible and wrong with their pages, programs, etc. But that is getting off topic from Seeing AI. (Have fun trying to tell Siri to open that app for you. LOL)
It told me my living room was messy, today! I've been scolded by the Iphone! haha
But it also told me my baby looked happpy, so I'll forgive it. Imagine what it might tell me about the babies in another year! I can't wait to see how they improve this thing.
Soooo", I went into Wal-mart and thought I'd forego customer service in lew of the Seeing AI app. While I'm sure I looked a little odd, I pointed the phone around aisles until I found the dairy aisle. Looked for my feta chease to make a greek salad to no avail, though the app was very helpful with the bar code reader. Did end up having to ask someone, but found out I was supposed to be in the delly aisle. Managed to find what I was looking for upon arriving. Barcode READER AND QUICK TEXT WERE BOTH VERY HELPFUL. Whole experience took a bit longewr than it would had I just asked, but it's nice to know I can use it in a pinch.
But where is the bar code reader? All I have here is find a person, scene beta, short text, and document. Oh, and according to the app, my mom looks like a guitar. Heh.
it goes quick text, document, "product" people and scene btea. Should be there. Is it up to date? Even if not product was there in v1.
Nope, not there. No update option either.
Weird. May try uninstalling/reinstalling.
Maybe the issues could be dependent on iPhone models, though I doubt it. I have them exactly in the order as listed by poster 44, though without the typo in the word "beta". Might want to check over more carefully or ask regarding your particular model of phone.
Got a 5s
That could be your issue right there, honestly. Ask someone else with a 5S to verify. I was also told it doesn't even work on a 5 at all.
Shit. And I won't be able to upgrade in the near future, either.
Ok, I am using it on the Iphone SE, and I don't see how to turn the feedback sounds on/off. It doesn't make any sound while processing a scan, currently. And
Also, I don't see anything about updating the app; is that done elsewhere, in Settings, maybe?
The app updates in the app store, like most other apps. If you have automatic updates enabled already, the updates more than likely just download automatically and you don't have to do anything but stay connected to wi-fi to receive the update.
Thanks.
And I was mistaken, I do have the little tones while processing. It's helpful.
Cute you mean.
Laughing.
The barcode feature is only part of the app on the iPhone 6S and newer, so that would explain why the 5S you have isn't seeing that feature.
Phooey
It looks like Microsoft will be adding this to Windows 10 soon. Today, Microsoft sent an email to the Windows Insiders announcing the addition of AI to Narrator. They only mentioned the ability to describe images and to read any text found in the images though.
That's actually really cool. Hope it can read whole screens. Actually one thing that would be really cool as an optional feature is to have a marquis selection where you can select the exact area of a screen you wish it to read. Wouldn't help the totally blind perhaps, but might help some with a little sight.
Naw. What would be the coolest is for Microsoft to hire girls with pretty voices.
You click on share my screen like in Skype, and one tells you what you want to know when your screen reader won't.
Yeah.
Laughing.
Trying to get it to read labels on bottles and directions on food boxes, but it doesn't seem to work. Anyone else had the same issue?
When I had my IPhone 7plus, all features seem to work well. The seen feature needs work but all in all a very handy app. Now to see how it works on a IPhone SE, I've switched networks so had to give up the IPhone 7+ to cover cost.
Dan mathis SF