• Blog
  • Archives
  • Bio
  • Awards
  • Speaking
  • Book
  • Contact

Aipoly at Singularity University

Published: Wednesday, 30 September 2015

Aipoly aims to help the blind navigate the world. Our first application enables blind people to take a photo of their surroundings, and have it described to them in a sentence. Aipoly’s initial prototype uses convolutional neural networks to interpret images and relay them to the user in real time, and an API with a human layer for more descriptive semantic responses.  We got into TechCrunch with Aipoly!  My first ever TechCrunch article!  :)  You can read it in full here!  I worked on the project with my Singularity University classmate Alberto Rizzoli from Italy.  Mark Parncutt from Australia helped us create our first prototypes.

Here is the video we made during the first week of our two-week project at Singularity University showing users' response to the app.


I was attending a picnic with 70 blind people and showing them the app, when it became morning in Australia!  So I did a Weekend Breakfast interview with ABC News 24.


After two weeks at Singularity University, our work on Aipoly and our pitch impressed our classmates and the judges so much that we were given the privilege of presenting at the Closing Ceremony as the final speakers.  Here is a video made by Singularity University where we speak about that experience!


And finally, Andrea Bocelli used and gave us feedback on our Aipoly app!

About Me

Marita ChengForbes named me a world's top 50 woman in tech & 30 Under 30. I founded Robogals and Aipoly and was Young Australian of the Year 2012. Currently working on robotics company Aubot. I'm the youngest Member of the Order of Australia (AM) and I give speeches around the world.

I tweet @maritacheng and I'm on Facebook.

Subscribe

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Random Articles

  • Teleport Brain Control

    We launched Teleport Brain Control, so that people with a disability may attend school or work remotely via our telepresence robot Teleport,...

  • Don't career plan

    No one knows what will happen in the future.  Just do your best at what you're doing now.  Then consider your options at the end of this project....

  • Nexus Impact Accelerator Fellow

    I spent the last few days of February in Washington DC attending the Nexus Global Summit as a Nexus Impact Accelerator Fellow. NEXUS is a global...

  • Where are you not looking?

    You’ve brainstormed and tried all the keywords that you could think of in Google, you’ve asked Jeeves, you’ve spoken to your lecturers and you’ve...

  • You’re not a failure, you just haven’t found your passion

    When I was 17, I came 3rd in an international Japanese speaking contest. However, I don’t do anything about my Japanese studies now. The year prior, I got...

  • The Impostor Syndrome

    I first learnt about the impostor syndrome at the Grace Hopper Celebration for Women in Computing in 2011.  A Stanford student asked a question...

  • Regaining focus

    During my time at Robogals, towards the end of every year, I would lose focus. Why?  All my major projects for the year would have been wound up.  My...

  • Tech Schools Ambassador

    I've been named the ambassador for a Victorian Government education initiative called Tech Schools! Tech Schools are shared learning centres...

  • How I manage

    For one of the projects I’ve been leading for over the past 2.5 years, I manage a team of 20 people remotely. I meet with all of my direct reports...

  • Robogals 10-Year Anniversary Gala

    On 14 July 2008, I founded Robogals. At the Robogals 10-year anniversary gala in Melbourne, I gave a speech alongside Mark Parncutt, co-founder of...

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Scroll to Top