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A team of four young developers is working on a smart wearable pendant to help visually impaired commuters identify arriving buses and navigate Singapore’s bus system more independently. The team, which consists of Lee Kiah Hong, Ryan Yeo, Sriram Jeyakumar, and Chia Wee Leong met while taking SP’s Diploma in Applied AI and Analytics. They previously developed the Oculis iPhone app, which uses computer vision, audio alerts and haptic feedback to identify buses. The app was developed under Open Government Products’ Build for Good initiative, receiving S$20,000 in funding and mentoring, and was tested over more than 200 navigation trips with over 40 visually impaired users. Feedback that users wanted a hands-free solution prompted the team to develop wearable prototypes in the form of pendants and spectacles, although the project remains in the R&D stage with no firm production timeline.

[The Straits Times]