New AI technology for people with disabilities
AI, or Artificial Intelligence, is becoming more involved in our day to day life. Whether it’s in our mobile phones using voice recognition and location-based search results or using a home device to help operate the lights and heating, everyone has come across some sort of AI device. Now that the technology has become even smarter, researchers have found ways to utilise it to help those with disabilities. This includes things such as Multiple Sclerosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Osteoarthritis and even Parkinson’s.
News Mobility was able to look into some of the great ways in which AI has already helped many people. They suggest that “it can help people with disabilities in a number of ways by recognising people in photos, understanding speech, remembering passwords, reminding you to take medication, and searching for information online”.
Many apps that have recently been developed with AI capabilities to help those with disabilities. For example, Poly AI is an app for visually impaired people to help recognise thousands of everyday objects. Similarly, Microsoft’s Seeing AI reads out text from letters or signs as well as describing faces. These types of developments are a step in the right direction for those with impairments that could otherwise isolate them from society.
For people with Rheumatoid Arthritis, an autoimmune disease that means the body will mistakenly attack the joints, News mobility have found that “The University of Bath is developing an app to monitor patients’ symptoms between medical appointments and predict flare-ups. Called the Flare Profiler, the app will test a unique range of patient data using video and thermal imaging technology.”
Another great development was to help people with Parkinson’s. In 2016, Microsoft scientists were able to create a pen that would steady Emma Lawton’s hand so that she could write again after she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease at 29 years old. She told the Evening Standard, “I never thought it would be able to be fixed. I resigned myself to the fact it wouldn’t get better, after all there had been no new medicines for years … I just never expected to be able to draw again. It was a pretty mammoth task to be able to make someone able to write,”
Emma now works as a project lead for Apps and Devices at Parkinson’s UK charity, helping others with similar limitations. AI is a great development within technology, and it is developing in every possible sector, including mobility. If you require a stairlift or have one installed in your home, whether it be a curved stairlift or straight stairlift, Companion Stairlifts is available to give you any advice.
This news article is from Companion Stairlifts. Articles that appear on this website are for information purposes only.
