OrCam launches unique wearable AI device

OrCam Technologies, a Jerusalem-based start-up that develops advanced technology to help the visually impaired, launched a Kickstarter campaign on Wednesday for its artificial intelligence wearable device: OrCam MyMe.

Initial backers of the device will benefit from a reduced price of $199, half of the retail price. The estimated delivery date is March 2019.

The lightweight and discreet device, which is equipped with a 13 megapixel camera, recognizes faces and text in real time of people around the THE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE wearable device OrCam MyMe.

user, and notifies them via an app on their smartphone or smartwatch. The app enables

users to manage circles of people and customize statistical data for better time management. It also automatically scans business cards and name tags in networking situations, ensuring that users get in touch later.

The app informs users when the device recognizes someone they have already met, and provides information regarding previous meetings, where they met and spent time together.

The device also aims to manage social wellness by evaluating where a user’s attention is being spent, and setting what the company calls “augmented attention” goals to strike the optimal work-life balance.

“The mission of the campaign is to make AI a companion for humans by putting together a camera, sophisticated computing, machine learning and deep networks,” said OrCam co-founder and CTO Prof. Amnon Shashua.

“I invite everyone who is interested in the potential of AI to join us and build a community in which we find ways to harness artificial intelligence for a better life.”

Allaying privacy-related concerns, OrCam MyMe protects personal data by computing a signature for each face and by keeping all information stored on the device itself, rather than the cloud, for the sole personal use of the device user.

“This forward-thinking concept is perfect for Kickstarter. Early adopters will drive the next generation of wearables that bridge technology and society for a positive societal impact,” said OrCam co-founder, president and CEO Ziv Aviram.

“In the 21st century, we can encounter hundreds of new people daily and have thousands of online friends. Our brains have a hard time recalling the people we interact with. OrCam MyMe acts as the ultimate AI personal assistant.”

While OrCam’s latest device targets the mass market, the company’s previous two wearable innovations, MyEye and MyReader, sought to change the lives of blind and visually impaired people by empowering them to read text, recognize faces, identify products and more. •