The Practice of Applying AI to Benefit Visually Impaired People in China

According to the China Disabled Persons' Federation (CDPF), there are now 17 million visually impaired people in China, among which three million are totally blind, while the others are low-visioned. In the past two decades, China has experienced tremendous development of information technology. Traditional industries are incorporating information technology, with services delivered to users through websites and mobile applications. It is positive technical progress that visually impaired people can access various services without leaving home; for example, they can order food delivery online or schedule a taxi from an app-based transportation service. However, the development of technology has also brought challenges to the visually impaired in China.