See Saqib, A Blind Microsoft Engineer Builds AI-Powered App To ‘See’ The World

Saqib Shaikh shared the stage with Satya Nadella yesterday before this year’s Developer’s conference keynote was rounded up. Saqib is a Microsoft software engineer based in London who lost his sight at the age of seven. In a heartfelt demo yesterday, he outlined an ongoing project he is working on that helps the blind ‘see’ the world through machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella (R) introduces Saqib Shaikh, who is developer and is blind, at the end of the keynote address during the Microsoft Build 2016 Developers Conference in San Francisco, California March 30, 2016. REUTERS/Beck Diefenbach

He explained that talking to computers inspired him to start the project called SeeingAI. This is built on Microsoft’s intelligence API and it transforms visuals into understandable audio.

The application is intended to work on smartphones and PivotHead. In the demo, Saqib is seen taking a picture with his glasses which then describes to him exactly is seen. It’s unclear when the application will be publicly available though.

You can watch the video demo below: