Vysion

For seniors, those with hyperopia, and simply those with a poor eyesight, Vysion utilizes machine learning models from Google Vision to scan for particular ingredients, particularly allergies.

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Inspiration

My father, who has hyperopia, would often ask me to help him read labels on food to check for his various allergies. Obviously, I wouldn't mind helping him, but moving to university made it impossible for me to do so. When we were just calling and he was joking about how he needs another kid to be his eyes, the idea of Vision came up - a pair of eyes.

What it does

Vysion is a simple, lightweight tool used to quickly and easily detect ingredients in food, particularly allergens. It vibrates and changes colour when it is detected, along with a message, so those who are visually impaired or elderly can easily use this app. It's not overloaded with features, and completes the task concisely.

It constantly parses through various iterations of the text scanned and makes sure that the word is actually detected first and foremost, as one's safety is extremely important to us.

How we built it

  • Google Vision (Google Cloud Platform)
  • Android Studio (Java)
  • HTML/CSS/JS/Bootstrap (for the launch site)

Challenges we ran into

One of the biggest challenges was targeting the right demographic. Web applications may be a bit too much for the elderly, and we aren't going to make them have to type out a specific link every time they want to use it. Mobile applications, specifically Android apps, are easy to download and can be used at any time after one simple download; mobility is the name of the game.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We're proud to announce that this application can actually make an impact on those around us. Labels on food are always overwhelming, especially to those whose eyesight and vision are impaired. Vysion provides secure, safe, simple functionality. Using top-end technologies, it isn't overwhelming for those people, and serves a critical but simple service.

What we learned

We learned not only about the power of strong machine learning models like Google Vision, but on the software development process, and on how to make something worthwhile. Figuring out ideas is 90% of most hackathons. The rest, the hacking process, is just putting what your mind thought of into action. Questions like "who does this target?" and "how can we make it easier for them" were central in building Vysion.

What's next for Vysion

The next step for Vysion is a full deployment onto Google Play, where it will be free for people to use, as it is for the betterment of society.

Additionally, Vysion will soon see a web application version, as well as hopefully an iOS deployment, if successful.

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