Systems based on artificial intelligence and neural networks can be adapted to perform a variety of tasks from complex mathematical calculations to object recognition and even video editing. Recently, a group of Russian scientists have developed a special device that will allow blind people to re-orientate in space. The device was named SOMSI - a multi-channel information processing system.
Responsible for the development of the company "Business Bureau" and, according to the publication "Izvestia", is a gadget for analyzing the surrounding space using the resulting video and audio signals. The device consists of two parts: the first is all the necessary sensors for recording information such as sensors, microphones and video cameras, and the second is the AI-based platform itself.
The principle of operation is as follows: having received the necessary data about the environment, the system transfers them "to the cloud", where the neural network analyzes the information received, and then the resulting result is sent back to the user, where it is converted into a voice or tactile message, or a virtual message is built on its basis. image (albeit in a rather primitive form). The latter option is available with an eye implant.
Today the SOMSI system is a digital analogue of the retina, but there is still not enough power and technology to process the image in all its details. At the same time, the gadget is quite capable of recognizing large schematic outlines of objects. SOMSI also has one more function: determining the distance to objects using ultrasound. The user will need to hold down just one button and the neural network will tell him where and what item is located. At the moment, the performance of the device is being improved, and the market launch is planned for the second half of 2019. According to the project designer Vyacheslav Cheprakov,
The developers' plans also include teaching the neural network to recognize the faces of specific people and transfer part of the program to the device itself so that it can work even in the absence of the Internet.
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Vladimir Kuznetsov