At Envision, we have always been at the cutting edge of technology and innovation, with which we disrupt the old-fashioned norms of assistive technology for the better. Our latest game-changer is Ask Envision, a powerful new feature on the Envision Glasses that leverages GPT-4 by OpenAI to provide simple yet powerful virtual assistance to better access information and understand the world around us. Ask Envision can be used in the following three Envision Glasses features: Scan Text, Batch Scan and Describe Scene

This article contains the following:

1. How does the Ask Envision feature work?
2. How to use Ask Envision within Scan Text and Batch Scan?
3. Introducing: Ask Envision within Scan Text and Batch Scan
4. How to use Ask Envision with Describe Scene?
5. Introducing: Ask Envision within Describe Scene

How does the Ask Envision feature work?

The Ask Envision feature allows Envision Glasses customers to ask questions, in the language you're most comfortable with, about a piece of text or document they have just scanned, such as a menu card, electricity bill, or cooking instructions, and ask questions about the content.

To query in your preferred language, simply select it as the Device Language under Settings and that's it, as long as you are connected to the Internet. For detailed information on how to change your preferred language, please see Change Device Language

Ask Envision can be used in the following three Envision Glasses features: Scan Text, Batch Scan and Describe Scene

How to use Ask Envision within Scan Text and Batch Scan?

Step 1: Grab your favorite cooking recipe and scan it in with Scan Text or Batch Scan

Step 2: Once the Reader is open and is speaking out loud the contents of the document, to start asking questions, you can press for 2 to 3 seconds and release the Hinge Button, until you hear a chime, then ask your question and wait for the virtual assistant to answer you. The Hinge Button is located where the titanium frame meets the plastic body of your Envision Glasses. Found on the top of the body of the glasses. If you have trouble locating it, please tap here to access a video tutorial, which you can show to a sighted friend for assistance.

Step 3: Feel free to ask any questions such as:

1. How many ingredients does this recipe need?
2. Do I need eggs for this recipe?
3. How long do I have to bake the brownie for?
4. Can you convert 350 Fahrenheit to Celsius?

Step 4: After the question is asked, your Envision Glasses will say 'Envision is answering your question' and you will hear a reply.

Step 5: To continue asking more questions you can press the Hinge Button as many times as you wish. Keep in mind that each question needs to be asked separately and voice prompts can be in any of the Supported Device Languages by Envision Glasses. Simply select it as the Device Language under Settings and that's it, as long as you are connected to the Internet. For detailed information on how to change your preferred language, please see Change Device Language

With Ask Envision, people who are blind or have low vision can access any text-based content with ease. The feature enhances independence, creating enjoyable experiences without having to rely on others. To learn more about the benefits of this feature, see our blog post Introducing Ask Envision: A Game-changer for the Blind and Low Vision Community

Watch the video below to see how to use the new feature in more detail.

How to use Ask Envision with Describe Scene?

Step 1: Navigate to the main menu and do a one-finger double tap in Describe Scene.

Step 2: Before doing a one-finger double tap to activate the feature, point your head in the direction that you want it to describe to you. Usually it’s better to look a little more down.

Step 3: Now do a one-finger double tap on the Describe Scene feature.

Step 4: A countdown sound will be played followed up by a camera shutter. This means a snapshot has been taken and the picture is processed. Upon completion, the scene will be spoken out. A very detailed description will be given to you.

Step 5: To use our virtual assistance Ask Envision and query about this specific scene you can press for 2 to 3 seconds and release the Hinge Button, until you hear a chime, then ask your question and wait for the virtual assistant to answer you. The Hinge Button is located where the titanium frame meets the plastic body of your Envision Glasses. Found on the top of the body of the glasses. If you have trouble locating it, please tap here to access a video tutorial, which you can show to a sighted friend for assistance.

Step 6: To continue asking more questions the Hinge Button as many times as you wish. Keep in mind that each question needs to be asked separately and voice prompts can be in any of the Supported Device Languages by Envision Glasses. Simply select it as the Device Language under Settings and that's it, as long as you are connected to the Internet. For detailed information on how to change your preferred language, please see Change Device Language

Step 7: If you want to save the shared description, you can do a two-finger single tap to open the Export option, do a one-finger double tap and the description will be saved in your Envision Library in Envision App.

Note: Please note that this feature in its full capacity is only available to everyone with the 2024 Software Updates Pass. If you are not in possession of the 2024 Software Updates Pass, you will still have access to this feature, however, its functionality will be less detailed and it will be in beta mode. In this case when using Describe Scene you will hear the word beta before activating this functionality. For more information, please see Software Updates Pass For Read & Home Edition Users 

In the following video, you can see our supercharged Describe Scene only available to everyone with the 2024 Software Updates Pass in action:

To learn more about the benefits of this feature, see our blog post Envision Glasses Version 2.3.1 Reveals Supercharged Scene Descriptions And Multilingual Voice Input for Ask Envision