Microsoft's newest app uses AI to narrate the world (MSFT)

pulse

July 13, 2017 3:48 PM

The technology points to Microsoft's AI clout, and helps to position the firm as a front-runner in the rapidly growing mobile health ecosystem.

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, Microsoft unveiled Seeing AI, an iOS app that uses the smartphone camera to tell visually impaired users what’s in front of them,accordingto CNBC.

The technology — which uses computer vision to identify the objects in a user's environment to provide context on their surroundings — points to Microsoft’s AI clout. It also helps to position the firm as a front-runner in the rapidly growing mobile health ecosystem.

Seeing AI can read text from signs and documents aloud; describe places, people, and their emotions; recognize currency values; identify household products by scanning barcodes; and even provide instructions to users if the object they want described is not in-frame.

Microsoft is ramping up its efforts to integrate AI into all facets of its users’ lives as it jockeys against other tech titans in the AI landscape:

Microsoft’s presence in the AI ecosystem distinguishes it from competitors.
Microsoft is expanding its AI efforts into a whole range of its products.
Microsoft is leveraging its AI capabilities to create optimal healthcare solutions.

Embracing third-party platforms is a strategic play by Microsoft to stay relevant in the mobile ecosystem, which the company has struggled with. On Tuesday, the company ceased support for its Windows Phone 8.1 operating system. However, relying on third-party platforms can present challenges for Microsoft, since platforms like Apple and Google are capable of developing their own AI solutions and applications, and many consumers hold strong interest in staying within the same ecosystem.

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