Samsung Electronics said on the 15th that it will unveil an artificial intelligence (AI) home appliance manual, "How to use for everyone," for people who are blind or have low vision to mark White Cane Day. White Cane Day was established in 1980 by the World Blind Union to protect the rights of people who are blind and to draw social attention.
Noting that people who are blind find it difficult to obtain information needed to use home appliances from conventional manuals, Samsung Electronics developed the manual together with TUAT, a startup that develops a vision-assistance app and was selected early this year for the Samsung Electronics startup incubation program C-Lab Outside.
The manual provides a screen reader function, and users can listen to explanations by voice through the play button located at the bottom.
The manual describes in detail, as if drawing it right before the eyes, the product exterior and the position of controls, and it also explains how to use voice control and accessibility features in detail. It further guides where to attach tactile stickers for people who are blind to improve accessibility.
For example, when the dust filter of the Bespoke AI Combo washer-dryer needs to be cleaned, the conventional manual shows the detailed location or operation of the part in illustrations, but the How to use for everyone manual provides detailed guidance such as "There is a dust filter door on the upper right corner of the front of the washer." It also includes a voice recognition Q&A function and features such as a table of contents and frequently asked questions so users can find the information they need.
To verify that the new manual is suitable for the real-world usage environment of people who are blind, Samsung Electronics comprehensively reflected professional research by the Korea Accessibility Evaluation and Research Institute, along with advice from the Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Guide Dog School and employees with visual impairments.
The manual will first be offered for six products: ▲ the 2024 and 2025 Bespoke AI Combo washer-dryers ▲ the Infinite AI Combo washer-dryer ▲ the Bespoke AI one-body washer and dryer ▲ the Bespoke AI washer and the Bespoke AI dryer.
Starting with the Korean version, it will later expand to 20 languages, including Spanish, English and French.