Nick Allan is totally blind, but he can still tell who's sitting in front of him, what age they are and if they are smiling or frowning.
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All thanks to his phone.
The 43-year-old, who is Vision Australia's Access Technology technical lead, is using a new app, Seeing AI which describes nearby scenarios and people, and reads facial expressions, text and objects.
It can also read barcodes, allowing the vision impaired to pay their own bills.
Mr Allan says advances in technology are helping him navigate a world designed for the able-bodied.
"I can't say that a lot of things are easy, but at least they are doable now, whereas they weren't before," he says.
"You are more likely to try things you wouldn't have tried before, because it is more likely to work for you now."
Seeing AI is one of many apps and devices helping people with a disability gain more control over their lives and decrease dependence on others.
Guide Dogs Victoria recently launched a pilot program to help the visually impaired navigate inside public buildings.
Beacons installed at various locations inside Southern Cross Station connect to Blindsquare, a free GPS app, which uses smartphones to provide directional advice.
For those unable to use hands, a device allows the cursor to be controlled with movement of the mouth. For those who have a learning disability such as dyslexia, Word documents can read aloud with simultaneous highlighting, increase text spacing and breaking words into syllables to improve concentration and comprehension.
Jenny Lay-Flurrie, Microsoft's chief accessibility officer, is in Melbourne to launch the Seeing AI app in Australia.
Ms Lay-Flurrie, who is severely and profoundly deaf, says technology can remove barriers and create a level playing field for people with a disability.
She says Microsoft is building accessibility into its Windows operating systems and Office suite to cater to the one billion people with a disability worldwide.
"Technology has got an incredible part to play," Ms Lay-Flurrie says.
"We have got features embedded into those products that could empower a lot of people. We just put colour-blindness filters into Windows 10, we put eye-control into Windows ... we are hoping it will help someone with MND [Motor Neurone Disease] be able to communicate where you type using your eyes and it will speak for you.
"I think we have come a long way, I think we have got a lot to do."
Ms Lay-Flurrie says she uses a variety of tools every day, including video calling, real-time captioning and voice transcribers.
"I think accessibility is something every company should be thinking about; every company should be looking for products that give the best experience for all customers and employees," she says.
"We have the power to include, and that's what we should do; we have the power to exclude, and that's no good for no one."
Almost 30 years ago Graeme Smith started Ability Technology, an organisation geared towards finding the right technological help for people with a disability.
Since then there has been enormous advancements in technology covering every aspect of life for people with a disability.
"It helps people write, it helps people speak, it helps them organise their life, manage their finances, education, recreation ...," Dr Smith says.
"People with disability sometimes use technology to develop music, to do photography, to do artwork, write poetry."
Dr Smith says technology is also helping people with disability enter the workforce.
"You see people with disabilities who are judges, lawyers, politicians," he says.
"As people become more competent partly through technology then there is a snowball effect.
"... Because people may have pity, people with disability might be seen as [being on] welfare ... [but] attitudes are forced to change."
Mr Allan says without technology he wouldn't be able to do what he does.
"Without computers that talk, mobile phones that talk you wouldn't be able to perform any office job these days," he says.
For Mr Allan it is about not having to ask for help.
"It gets tiring to always rely on other people and other people's timeline," he says.
"The use of technology means there is less reliance on other people to get things done. And that's comforting for me ...and indpependence."
Seeing AI is a free app currently available for iPhones.
- The Age
