Wearable assistive device called ‘Blind Eye’ invented by Adilabad techie wins international award

The engineering student is going to receive a cash prize of Rs 8.5 lakh under imaGen Ventures award and will also be allowed to trial his device in 10 countries

Adilabad: Blind Eye, a revolutionary wearable assistive device invented by Tagire Ravi Kiran, an engineering student from the town and the founder of Allien Innovations, was exhibited at Global Incubation Week, held by UNICEF at Istanbul in Turkey from August 24 to 30.

The device is meant for visually challenged persons.

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The son of a TGSRTC Adilabad depot clerk, Ravi was the first and only innovator from India to get an invitation by UNICEF to display his invention in the Global Incubation Week for winning the imaGen Venture award. He was one of the 10 innovators chosen from across the world to showcase thought-provoking yet useful solutions in the event.

Kiran is going to receive a cash prize of Rs 8.5 lakh under imaGen Ventures award and will also be allowed to trial his device in 10 countries.

Imagen Ventures award is constituted by Generation Unlimited, a leading global Public-Private-Youth Partnership launched by UNICEF to bring together global organisations to create and deliver innovative solutions.

“The Blind Eye is the world’s first assistive wearable spectacle device designed for visually impaired individuals, providing comprehensive information about their surroundings. It aids in safe navigation, reading text in any language, and recognizing objects and people, thereby enhancing inclusivity in society,” Kiran told ‘Telangana Today.’

The engineering student said that the device can significantly improve the quality of life of visually impaired persons and reduce their reliance on others by enabling users to perform daily tasks independently.

The device leverages Artificial Intelligence (AI) in several key functionalities to provide comprehensive support and empowerment for visually impaired individuals.

According to the inventor, the device which resembles a spectacle has advanced sensors, camera, speaker and microphones accommodated in it. It can read for the visually impaired people in any language and gives it in audio so that they don’t need to depend on others to read the normal text like newspaper, books, slips, etc. It aids them to identify the currency note as well.

Ravi said that he had invented the device by collaborating with T-Works and receiving unwavering support from the Telangana government, MeitY Startup Hub and Atal Incubation Centre, ALEAP Women Entrepreneurs Hub (AIC ALEAP WEHUB), IKP Knowledge Park and ACIC BML Munjal University (BMU).

Prior to the international recognition, Ravi had won the youngest innovator award from Telangana government in 2019 and a cash reward of Rs 2 lakh from LV Prasad Eye Institute for inventing the device.

He is pursuing engineering III year at a private university in Maharashtra. He was an alumni of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya-Kaghaznagar.

How Blind Eye functions
The device can recognize people, can indicate the number of persons and their names if saved. It can also provide  elaborate details, like, are they looking at them, their movements, etc.

The device enables the visually impaired to notice the people in their surroundings. It also ensures safety for women as the deice also differentiates people by gender and information about their movement which empowers their safety.

Further, the device can detect objects such as water bottles, mobile phones among other essential items which will eliminate their dependency on others.

The device is equipped with advanced sensors which  guides them to navigate safely by detecting the objects and helping them to move around safely. It eliminates the use of the regular cane for the visually impaired.