Case Study: Pivothead helps visually impaired users see the world with Microsoft Cognitive Services

Wearable technology firm is helping people who are visually impaired see the world

Pivothead, a wearable technology firm, faced a challenge in leveraging its smart eyewear to help people who are blind or visually impaired. Despite years of research, they had been unable to develop the complex AI required to translate visual information into audio descriptions. They turned to Microsoft Corporation and its Microsoft Cognitive Services APIs to find a solution.

Using Microsoft's APIs for Computer Vision, Emotion, Face, and Speech, Pivothead built a prototype device that interprets the world for visually impaired users. The glasses can identify objects, read text, and describe people and their emotions aloud. A software engineer with no prior machine-learning experience was able to implement the Microsoft solution in a remarkably short time, which opened an entirely new market for Pivothead's products and helped them achieve their goal of supporting people with vision impairments.

Pivothead

Benoit Chirouter

R&D Director