Microsoft releases Seeing AI app v2.0 with currency recognition and more

Earlier this year, Microsoft released a new app called Seeing AI that changes the lives of blind and low vision community. This app uses the power of AI to describe nearby people, text and objects. Blind and low vision community people can just hold up their phone and hear information about the world around them.

Yesterday, Microsoft announced Seeing AI v2.0 app with several new features and expanded availability. First of all, Seeing AI app is now available in 35 countries, including the European Union. Second, they are making this app even more useful by adding four new channels: Currency, Color, Light and Handwriting. Read about the new features included in this update below.

• Color recognition: Getting dressed in the morning just got easier with this new feature, which describes the color of objects, like garments in your closet.
• Currency recognition: Seeing AI can now recognize the currency of US dollars, Canadian dollars, British Pounds and Euros. Checking how much change is in your pocket or leaving a cash tip at a restaurant is much easier.
• Musical light detector: The app alerts you with a corresponding audible tone when you aim the phone’s camera at light in the environment. A newly convenient tool so you don’t have to touch hot bulbs to know that a light is switched off, or the battery pack’s LED is on.
• Handwriting recognition: Expanding on the ability of the app to read printed text, such as on menus or signs, the newly improved ability to read handwriting means you can read personal notes in a greeting card, as well as printed stylized text not usually readable by optical character recognition.
• Reading documents: Seeing AI can read you the document aloud without voiceover, with synchronized word highlighting. Also, it includes the ability to change the text size on the Document channel.
• Ability to choose voices and speed: Personalization is key, and when you’re not using VoiceOver, this feature lets you choose between the voice that is used and how fast it talks.

Download the updated app here from Apple App Store.