Harnessing the Power of Artificial Vision using OrCam MyEye

Harnessing the Power of Artificial Vision using OrCam MyEye By Bryan Wolynski

Harnessing the Power of Artificial Vision using OrCam MyEye Blind / Low Vision

There are many challenges faced by people who are blind or visually impaired. Whether it is gaining access to print and or computer based materials, staying competitive in school/work or mobility, there are many assistive technologies that can help and to choose from. As an optometrist, who practices low vision, I try to find the right device or technology to match an individ- uals needs and goals. My goal is to empower and increase inde- pendence for my patients and as such I need to stay up to date on the latest in assistive technology. Over the past decade there have been an increasing number of new assistive devices, especially wearable technology, which makes sense in today’s fast paced technological world. Comput- er vision, which is the ability of a computer to understand what it sees, has been around for many years, but mostly in industry. With advancements in other areas and combined with artificial intelligence, a company out of Israel, OrCam Technologies, has created a device called the OrCam MyEye, which utilizes the power of computer vision. The OrCam MyEye is a wearable assistive device that was de- signed from the ground up for people who are blind or visually impaired. It is a wearable smart camera that speaks the infor- mation it sees. The inspiration for OrCam MyEye is the brainchild of Professor Amnon Shashua and Ziv Aviram, who had much success in the field of computer vision with their company, Mo- bileye, which uses computer vision technology in automobiles

Bryan Wolynski Dr. Bryan Wolynski is in private practice in New York City where he provides low vision examinations as well as primary eye care. He also provides eye care for people with special needs at a community health center, exams for people in family homeless shelters and is starting care for people who are homebound. Dr. Wolynski consults on behalf of OrCam Technologies since 2013, providing training to patients, other professionals and facilitating clinical research. He has provided continuing education on low vision and assistive technology to eye care professionals and has spoken at conferences in the field of low vision both nationally and internationally.

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What does OrCam MyEye do? In practice I hear many patients complaints. The largest by far is reading text. OrCam is able to read text off of any surface (books, newspapers, mail, boxes and computer screens) through its own optical character recognition (OCR) software. My pa- tients can read on the go, home or at work. I’ve had patients use MyEye 2 to read the cooking instructions on a box or just find out the nutrient contents of food products while shopping, It can instantly read anywhere you are, a menu at a restaurant or that document you get while at a work meeting. OrCam is also able to perform recognition of faces, products, bar codes, colors, money and tells me the time. How Does OrCam MyEye Work? While wearing OrCam, the camera takes a photo and speaks the information it sees. While functions can be set to automatic, for reading most people like to have control of when the device is working. To activate the OrCam camera to take a picture of the text you want to read, all that’s needed is to point toward the text. This pointing gesture (pointing forward with the finger in an upward position, like gesturing the number 1, so the camera sees your nail), triggers the camera to take a picture once it sees your extended finger. If I want to read a book or any other text in front of me, I just point my finger at the text, listen for an audio feedback beep sound (indicating that the device recognized the gesture), remove my finger, at which time I will hear a camera shutter sound indicating a picture is being taken. Once the pic- ture has been taken, OrCam will start reading. Two other ways to initiate reading include tapping on the touch pad surface or as mentioned before can be automatic. Besides the pointing ges- ture, other gestures include stop and tell-time. While reading I can also fast forward or rewind the text by a forward or reverse swipe motion on the touch pad. I can also pause reading with a double tap and stop with a single tap. Depending on the func- tion I want, I can also change the settings to my preference ei- ther through an audio menu guide or through voice activation or OrCam’s App. Another reading capability is OrCam’s smart OCR function through touch reading. By keeping my finger in the camera’s field of view, instead of removing my finger, it knows to read about three lines above where I am pointing and will follow my finger around a page. This can be helpful with a menu or news- paper headlines and if I found that I want to read more of that section, all I need to do is remove my finger and OrCam will con- tinue reading on, smart! In OrCam’s original design, the device was light dependent. With the release of MyEye 2, which now features 2 LED lights, lighting conditions are a thing of the past. So if I am in a dark restaurant, the LED lights will automatically flash allowing me to read the menu with ease. However, one thing to point out is that if lighting is so low that the camera cannot see the pointing gesture, you would need to use the touch pad.

helping with collision detection and safe driving practices. It is now available in many vehicles worldwide making our roads saf- er, reducing accidents and really saving lives. Mobileye technol- ogy is also now being incorporated for use with self-driving cars, truly amazing! Founded in 2010, OrCam Technologies put together a team of leading engineers and design experts and really came up with a unique device and design. Over the past six years, since OrCam’s pre-testing phase in 2013 and launch of their original device in 2015 and now their 2nd generation device, MyEye 2 launched in 2018, I have worked with hundreds of patients using MyEye and have become quite familiar with its functionality. OrCam MyEye Description The OrCam MyEye 2 is a single lightweight unit (less than one ounce), which is about the size of an index finger. With two mag- nets on the inside surface the device attaches magnetically to most any eyeglasses (except for thin wire frames or some wrap around frame), so there is no need for any special kind of glasses. If you don’t wear glasses, it can attach to sunglasses or any frame without prescription. The device has an outer touch control pad, a 13 mega-pixel camera, 2 LED lights, a built in speaker and a mini USB port for charging. On the inside are the computer com- ponents and a rechargeable battery (lasting around 1.5 hours of continuous use). It has the capability of connecting to blue tooth speakers or headphone and is not dependent on the In- ternet for use. So the MyEye can be used when and anywhere I want. It however does connect to Wi-Fi for updates when con- nected. I have had patients using OrCam in the park, in stores and many other places where Wi-Fi may not be accessible or available.

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Patient Needs: The OrCam MyEye is a multi-functional device. As mentioned, reading is the number one issue of many of my patients. The Or- Cam device not only is an exceptional reader, but it can read off of any surface and on the go. Being portable and not dependent on Internet connectivity, it can be used anywhere. This also gives privacy whether a concern to the wearer, school or employer. MyEye can be used in school, work and for personal use. It also does not save the text; sorry students, cant save the test and send it to your friends. Psychological Aspects: Depression is something that needs to be dealt with by ev- eryone and something I pay attention to with my patients. Depression or lack of enjoyment in things can affect learning capacity and retention of information, making learning of any new technology seem daunting. So no matter what new device or technology I introduce, successful use can be hindered. An- other aspect of using a device is the aspect of appearing differ- ent. I feel the MyEye device has an aesthetically appealing and pleasing design, which blends in and does not stand out more than someone else’s blue tooth device. There are also no special glasses needed in order to attach the MyEye, not making you stand out or look different. Cognitive Ability: Since I see many low vision elderly patients this is something I need to pay attention to. However, I have found that sometimes I’m wrong and cognitive ability should not be a bias to introduc- ing something new. I believe and some studies have shown that cognitive ability should be taken as a case-by-case basis. What’s needed is a good demonstration and just see what someone is

Other features like facial and product recognition require that I enter the person or product in the system. This process is sim- ple and easy to do, only requiring about 20-30 seconds. So, the next time my friends or family come into the camera’s view, Or- Cam will tell me they are there. This has worked for patients from as far as ten feet away. OrCam can also be set to fully automatic mode and also tell you of unknown individuals recognizing their gender and if they are an adult or a child. OrCam already knows hundreds of thousands of bar codes so no need to enter it, un- less it is a specialty product or unknown barcode, then you can just simply enter it. It can also recognize money notes, which is already pre-programmed. For anyone who is bilingual, OrCam MyEye can auto-detect French and Spanish (US Version Only). Who is OrCam For? When I am considering a new device or technology for a pa- tient, I go through a technology assessment. This assessment includes; functional vision status, needs, psychological aspects, cognitive ability, home/social life, abilities and cost. Here’s the breakdown. Functional Vision Status: When I first introduced OrCam MyEye to my patients, people who were blind would say, “Oh this must be for people who are visually impaired”. People who were visually impaired would say, “Oh, this must be for people who are blind”. Well in fact, OrCam MyEye can be used and is for both. Much like magnification type devices need some residual vision to be used, the MyEye device does not depend on someone’s vision, allowing it to be used by someone who is blind or visually impaired. One side note I like about the technology for my patients is that the MyEye can still be a useful device even if vision declines.

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or just in their daily lives. OrCam shows what is possible with computer artificial vision. Since the device’s software can be up- dated through Wi-Fi, engineers at the company are continuously working on improvements and additional features for the future. Combined with machine learning and artificial intelligence Or- Cam MyEye2 is not only aiding people who are blind or visually impaired, but has also created a new category of assistive tech- nology and with its reading abilities, is also being looked into for people with reading difficulties like dyslexia. For my patients, I find a good demonstration can show how MyEye can meet their needs now and in the future. If you would like more information you can visit OrCam’s website at www.orcam.com or call 1-800-713-3741. You can also reach Dr. Wolynski at bryan.wolynski@orcam.com

able to accomplish.

Home Life & Social Life: For younger individuals who are more empowered and more social, OrCam portability works perfect for their lifestyle. Howev- er some of my elderly patients may need a good home support system, which can be important for successful use and instru- mental during initial training. Abilities: OrCam MyEye can be used by anyone of any age, any type of vision loss and technological abilities. However OrCam cannot be used by people who have total hearing loss (it is able to be used by someone with a hearing aid, and have many patients that do so), someone with a head or neck tremor (as the camera needs to take a still picture) like in Parkinson’s disease, someone who cannot comprehend text-to-speech or someone with unre- alistic expectation, there is no dog recognition and it wont find your lost keys, at least not yet! Cost: There are two versions of the OrCam MyEye 2. The MyEye and the MyReader. The difference between the two is that the MyEye costs $4,500, has all features and two years worth of updates, whereas the MyReader only has the reading functions, updates for one year and available at a lesser cost at $3,500. Some state rehabilitation agencies will cover the device and it is fully cov- ered for veterans through the Veterans Administration, for those that qualify. If you have a vision plan or private medical insur- ance sometimes they will cover a portion of the device so you can call and check with your provider. Unfortunately as we all know, Medicare insurance does not cover any assistive technol- ogy. Hopefully one day this will change. There are many people who are using MyEye in school, work

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