The three images above show a group discussion, testing the phone app on objects on a table, and testing it on a book shelf.

VICTA was delighted to be invited to Microsoft’s head office in Cambridge to bring together young adults with a vision impairment to design and develop an object recogniser application.

The aim of the application is to enable the user to identify their own possessions, such as their water bottle or lunchbox. The application will be available to download for commercial use allowing those that helped develop it to be able to access and use this resource.

Over the three sessions eight young adults designed, tested, and developed the app in conjunction with Microsoft developers and engineers. The young adults were given the opportunity to test it in real-life scenarios and offer advice on how to make it more accessible for individuals with a vision impairment, owing to their knowledge of lived experiences.