Note: this app was reviewed in tandem with two other scanner apps TapTapSee, and Vhista.
Seeing AI is a scanner app for the visually impaired developed by Microsoft for the IOS app store. The app uses an AI to narrate the world to mixed results. The app includes nine scanner modes Short Text, Handwriting, Document, Product (bar-code), Person, Currency, Scene, Color, and Light scan.
First up is short text and handwriting. While it can recognize text semi-accurately it reads it in a random order making it an unusable mess. I tried scanning the cover of my copy of A Game Of Thrones because the text is in bold print which I thought would make it easier on the app. It ended up reading it as Martin Thrones R. R.
The handwriting mode works a little differently than short text mode. Instead of the text to speech continuously spewing word vomit, the app scans it into text which you can either read yourself if you have residual vision or have the text to speech read it to you if you’re full blind. I scanned handwriting three times and two out o the three times it was correct.
The document scan was a little more accurate than short text but was still pretty hit or miss. I scanned around three documents and only one was scanned with no typos. The other two times the words were either wrong or missing entirely. So if you need to have a document read to you I would look elsewhere.
The feature I found most useful was easily the product scanner. Each time I scanned a bar code it was able to correctly determine the product name. The only issue I could find with it is that people who are fully blind may have trouble scanning a bar code. The app is supposed to beep when a bar code is close but every time I scanned a product it failed to do so.
The person scan feature worked well enough. I scanned myself multiple times and each time the app got most of my facial details and expression right. My only issue with this feature is that it tries to predict age but ended up getting my age wrong (by about a decade) every time I scanned myself (about six times).
The currency scan feature was surprisingly accurate, every time I scanned a bill it was able to accurately tell what the amount was. The only complaint I had was that it does not scan coins.
The biggest problem I had with Seeing AI was the general scan function or scene scan as it’s called in app . Almost every object I scanned was incorrect. So if you’re downloading Seeing AI for the general scan function don’t, there are much better apps out there such as TapTapSee.
Scene Scanner Accuracy Results:
Photo: Kingdom Hearts 3 PS4 Case
Object Subtitle: It seems to be screenshot, poster, cartoon, book, pc game, action-adventure game, action film, digital compositing, clothing, strategy video game
Accuracy: Wrong
Photo: Red Dead Redemption 2 PS4 Case
Object Subtitle: Probably a close up of a book
Accuracy: Wrong
Photo: Blade Runner 2049 Blu-ray Case
Object Subtitle: It seems to be poster, screenshot, vehicle, car, land vehicle, person, man, human face
Accuracy: Wrong
Photo: A Game Of Thrones By George R. R. Martin
Object Subtitle: Probably a close up of a sign
Accuracy: Wrong
Photo: Tazo Iced Green Tea Bottle
Object Subtitle: Probably an empty bottle sitting on a table
Accuracy: Fairly Correct
Photo: Sun-Maid Organic Raisin Pack
Object Subtitle: It seems to be food, snack, dessert, baked goods, confectionery
Accuracy: Wrong
Photo: Red and White Cane for the Blind
Object Subtitle: it seems to be bicycle, bicycle wheel, indoor, toothbrush, stationary, writing implement, sports equipment, plastic, pen
Accuracy: Wrong
Photo: White, Grey, and Blue Converse Sneakers
Object Subtitle: Probably a group of shoes
Accuracy: Fairly Correct
Photo: Mead Five Star Notebook
Object Subtitle: Probably a close up of a computer
Accuracy: Wrong
Photo: White and Brown English Bulldog
Object Subtitle: a brown and white dog looking at the camera
Accuracy: Mostly Correct
Pros:
- Free
- Currency scanner
- Product scanner
- Quick processing time
Cons:
- 3/10 accuracy for general image scanning
- Money reader can’t scan coins
- Face scanner can’t tell age
- Inaccurate
- Clunky UI (User Interface)
Conclusion: Overall Seeing AI was a mixed bag for me. For each good thing it felt like there were two caveats that came with it. However I still feel the app is worth a download for the product and currency features.
6/10
Thanks for reading, please keep an eye out for our review of Vhista as well as our round up of which of the three scanner apps is the best. If you have any suggestions of a review or topic you’d like to see us cover please feel free to leave a comment.
Blind Resources 