Woowa Brothers, which operates Baemin, said on the 19th that it developed a feature in the Baemin app to improve accessibility for people with visual impairments. The core function is that artificial intelligence (AI) provides audio descriptions that specifically depict food photos uploaded to the app.
According to Woowa Brothers, the feature has AI analyze images and convey by voice everything from the food's color and degree of doneness to the visual form of key ingredients. Baemin said it is completely different from existing screen reader functions that only read text on a smartphone screen.
Woowa Brothers developed the feature in collaboration with AI startup "ConnectBRIC." From on the 31st to on the 2nd, the two companies conducted tests with 30 people with visual impairments at the Siloam Center for the Visually Handicapped in Gwanak District, Seoul. In participants' usefulness evaluations, the feature scored 4.5 out of 5.
Woowa Brothers plans to review ways to apply the feature to actual service. Kim Jung-hyun, head of sustainability management at Woowa Brothers, said, "By strengthening the service's core function, we will realize social value and actively fulfill our social responsibility of 'improving accessibility' so that everyone can enjoy technological benefits without discrimination."