Developer with Visual Impairment to Introduce “AI Suitcase” to Enable Blind People at Kansai-Osaka Expo

From The Kyoto Shimbun via Yahoo! Japan

November 20 2024

KYOTO – Chieko Asakawa (65), IBM Fellow and director of the Miraikan (Tokyo) National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, who develops technology to support the visually impaired, gave a lecture at Kyoto Lighthouse in Kita-ku, Kyoto City. She touched on her latest projects, such as the “AI suitcase” that will be tested at next year’s Osaka-Kansai Expo, and the approximately 100 people who attended the lecture reflected on a society in which people with and without disabilities can live together thanks to science and technology.

Asakawa was selected to receive the 41st Torii Award, which commemorates the late Torii Tokujiro, founder of Kyoto Lighthouse, and honors those who have contributed to the development of welfare for the visually impaired. She took to the stage at a commemorative performance after the award ceremony.

Asakawa lost her sight at the age of 14 due to an accident. In her lecture, she reflected on her feelings at the time, saying, “I was worried about whether I would be able to become independent in the future because I could no longer read books by myself or go out,” but explained that she had tried everything, including sports and cooking. After joining IBM Japan, she developed Braille translation software and a browser that reads out loud text information on the web.

She also introduced an AI suitcase she is currently researching that can safely guide visually impaired people while avoiding people and obstacles. She explained that the idea came from her own experience of finding it difficult to carry both a suitcase and a white cane when traveling on business, and used a video to show how the suitcase is equipped with computers and sensors, allowing users to walk around town freely with voice guidance and other features.

Asakawa sees the Expo as a great opportunity to accelerate the social implementation of AI suitcases. She concluded by saying, “I hope that people with and without visual impairments will be able to imagine a future where robots can assist people.”