Currently, the market for wearable cameras that can interpret your surroundings for you is small and expensive. However, there are a few companies with strong offerings that have been mostly well received by users. The most notable of these products are MyEye 2.0 by OrCam, Aira, and Horus by Eyra. In this article, I will discuss the various advantages and disadvantages of the technology behind these systems.

The top of the line offering from OrCam is their MyEye 2.0 system, which packs an incredible amount of functionality into a package that simply clips onto the frame of your lenses. MyEye 2.0 boasts features such as text reading, facial recognition, product recognition, currency recognition, and color detection. MyEye 2.0 offers audio feedback via a speaker mounted on the unit. Overall, the features of MyEye 2.0 are very impressive, and it appears to offer relatively fast and reliable performance on tasks like recognizing a gesture for reading text, or recognizing a face. However, as a holistic solution, MyEye 2.0 is still lacking. The system has no solution for navigating the user in an unfamiliar environment. This is not an issue for users who do not need this assistance, but for users that do, it can leave a frustrating gap in services. MyEye 2.0 by OrCam is listed at $4,500 as a one time purchase for the clip on device.

Aira, on the other hand, uses agents to connect with users by phone and talk them through their environment. Aira still uses a similar clip on style camera, but it connects with an agent employed by Aira who assists the user with any requests they may have. The use of an agent allows for more complex queries from the user, but it also has some drawbacks. The user must have cell phone reception, and they must call during the operating hours of 4am to 10pm. The service is offered in varying levels as monthly packages ranging from $89 a month for 100 minutes to $329 a month for unlimited minutes. All packages include the required equipment. Aira plans to release an AI based service similar to the one used by OrCam in their MyEye series, but there are no details on price.

Horus is unique in offering a stereo camera solution. Stereo camera technology allows Horus to interpret depth in addition to analyzing images. Horus gives fully AI generated audio feedback through a bone conduction headphone unit mounted on the headset. Horus offers similar features as MyEye 2.0 in terms of text and face recognition, but it also offers object recognition. With object recognition, users can record an object by rotating it in front of the cameras; Horus can then recite the associated object tag of any memorized object in your view when you ask it to search for objects. However, Horus still is not approved for navigating a user through an environment and Horus does require the headset to connect via a cable to a significantly sized pocket unit. Horus is reported to cost roughly $2,000 but exact pricing details from Eyra are not available. Their waiting list is currently open.

Users of these systems are overwhelmingly happy to have increased functionality and independence. However, AI systems still do not offer the versatility of a human assistant, and human assistants do not offer 24/7 access or a consistent response time without orientation. There remains to be a solution that offers the flexibility of a human assistant and the independence of computer generated assistance.

All names, copyrights, and trademarks belong to their respective owners.

Links to devices and companies in article:

OrCam MyEye 2.0

Aira

Eyra Horus

If you are interested in actual user reviews check out the following OrCam MyEye 2.0 Review by Sam of The Blind Life, a YouTube channel with a lot of great assistive technology content for those with visual impairments.

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