OrCam’s Revolutionary Assistive Technology Now Operates Completely Hands-Free with Voice Commands

JERUSALEM, Aug. 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — OrCam Technologies, a global leader in personal, AI-driven assistive tech innovations, today announced the release of new software Version 9.10. The update, which is seamlessly downloaded on the wearable OrCam MyEye (for blind and visually impaired people) and handheld OrCam Read (for people with reading challenges) devices, empowers users in education and workplace settings – as well as in the performance of daily activities – resulting in increased independence and self-reliance.

The launch of “Hey OrCam” [video: https://bit.ly/3kgn2Ss] signifies the company’s dedication to transform the OrCam solutions into AI-driven “personal assistants” – which accompany the user throughout their day – as well as brings the assistive technology on par with existing consumer technologies that are voice-activated.

Version 9.10 includes new functionality that significantly improves the OrCam experience – and delivers a higher degree of accessibility – by allowing the device user to activate and control all features and settings hands-free, using voice commands. OrCam MyEye and OrCam Read users simply speak “Hey OrCam” followed by their desired action (voice command), and the device performs accordingly.

Version 9.10 also includes precise Table Reading capabilities – the first assistive tech to offer this highly accurate functionality – making information from restaurant menus, utility bills, nutritional information on products, and spreadsheets easily accessible.

OrCam recently introduced interactive Smart Reading [video: https://bit.ly/3muXlQN], which operates on Version 9.10. The feature acts as a text-to-speech version of the “Control-F” (PC) or “Command-F” (Mac) shortcut used on computers to find a particular word, phrase or other specific information. Activated by the user’s voice, the OrCam device listens to – and comprehends – the user’s requests, retrieving the relevant information, and reading the queried text to the user within a few seconds.

“More than a decade of OrCam’s R&D efforts have enabled us to offer the most natural, hands-free user interface for our pioneering assistive solutions,” explained Prof. Amnon Shashua, OrCam Technologies Co-founder and Co-CEO. “We developed this newly-available software release in direct response to our user’s feedback. It enables an entirely new level of accessibility for people with visual impairments and those with reading challenges. OrCam’s advancement allows our devices to listen to, comprehend – and respond to – natural voice commands, thereby transforming the devices’ complete operation into an intuitive and enjoyable user experience. To operate any device function, OrCam users simply speak out loud, and they can now also choose to use voice commands to query and change all settings. We are proud to provide this impactful software release to current OrCam users, as well as integrate the update on all devices going forward.”

OrCam MyEye and OrCam Read are only reliant on a WiFi connection in order to download software updates. All other operation is in real time while entirely offline – so the devices protect data privacy and may be used virtually anywhere, such as on an airplane tens of thousands of feet in the air, a submarine in the ocean depths, and even on a space-bound rocket.

OrCam MyEye [video: https://bit.ly/3jej8u0] is a voice-activated, wearable device that communicates vital visual information to people who are blind or have low vision. The size of a finger, the lightweight device – which magnetically mounts on the wearer’s eyeglass frames – instantly reads any printed text and digital screens out loud, recognizes faces, and identifies products/bar codes, money notes and colors.

OrCam Read [video: https://bit.ly/2WfTsVl] is the first of a new class of lightweight, handheld digital readers that supports people with language processing challenges, including dyslexia, by reading text from any surface. It is the only personal AI reader to instantly capture and read full pages of text and digital screens out loud. Intuitive point-and-click operation activates the device’s two precision laser guidance options, to read the entire highlighted text or target where to begin reading.

The OrCam MyEye wearable assistive technology device was among the TIME Best Inventions of 2019 and the OrCam Read handheld digital reader captured a CES 2021 “Best of Innovation” Award and was named an Ed Tech Awards 2021 Cool Tool Finalist.

About OrCam Technologies:  OrCam Technologies, a global leader in personal AI assistive technology platforms, was jointly founded in 2010 by Israeli innovators Prof. Amnon Shashua and Mr. Ziv Aviram, who are also the Co-founders of Mobileye (now an Intel company), the collision avoidance system leader and autonomous driving innovator. Inspired by this development of ground-breaking artificial vision technology that supports safer driving, OrCam harnesses highly advanced, AI-driven computer vision and machine learning to provide increased independence to people who are blind or visually impaired, have reading challenges, or hearing loss.

For more information: www.orcam.com and YouTube and follow OrCam on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

Media contact: 
Rafi Fischer
OrCam Technologies
rafi.fischer@orcam.com, 

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SOURCE OrCam Technologies