I’ll get the blind driving
A Cairns resident is creating an artificial intelligence software that enables visually impaired people to drive, with the end goal of getting those who are fully blind on the road.
Demelza Werly is visually impaired herself and came up with the idea a year ago. With the help of the team at the AI hub, she has been teaching the AI to read car signs and speak them in her ear.
“I want to help the visually impaired community drive legally and independently,” Ms Werly said.
“The AI starts off in the same way as a child, and we need to teach it to read the road signs at a pace that enables us to have a quick enough reaction time.”
The AI software detects crossings, road signs and signals on the road.
Ms Werly said, in the near future, she hopes for it to learn the lines on the road, the colours of the traffic lights, pedestrians and other cars.
“The AI will become the eyes of the driver,” Ms Werly said. “My main goal with this piece of equipment is for it to be able to be plugged into any car and not just the Teslas. I want it to be an affordable dream.”
Ms Werly explained that there are strict guidelines when it comes to driving and most visual impairments mean driving is out of the question.
“Right now, I get around through taxis or rely on my close friends to drive me around, but I really want my own independence,” she said.
“We’re exposing the camera as much as we can by driving it around different roads and giving it the opportunity to detect signs and signals.
“I’m so blessed to have a team that can also see my vision becoming a reality.”
If the AI learns as quick as Ms Werly’s team anticipates it can, those who suffer with visual impairment could be on the road within 2-3 years.
“The idea is that one day you’ll be able to go to an autoelectrician and install the AI into your car, with a camera on the dashboard and the audio running through the car speakers,” she said.
The developing software is called Pilgari Systems and will encompass both text to voice mechanics as well as voice to text.
“Knowing you have a machine who can learn means restricted licences could be a thing of the past,” Ms Werly said.
“It’s incredible that I’m even able to teach another machine how to be my eyes on the road.”