Guia-NOS app and Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses to help blind people at NOS Alive

The stage was set at the Passeio Marítimo de Algés and at NOS’s headquarters for the unveiling of the Guia-NOS app - a tool that uses Artificial Intelligence to guide and support people who are blind or have low vision, helping them gain greater independence in everyday life.

Several blind and low-vision guests attended the presentation, including Aliu and Francisco, who were selected to test the app before its public release. The project now counts on a partnership with Meta - the group behind Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp - which is supporting the initiative and, through its “smart” glasses, aims to turn the visible world into audio description.

What is this app and how does it work?

Now available free of charge, the app provides real-time descriptions of the surrounding environment and lets users interact with the visual context captured by a mobile phone. It can identify objects, people, text, colours, and more.

The Guia-NOS app is available for both iOS and Android, and when paired with Ray-Ban Meta glasses it becomes even more convenient: there is no need to hold a phone, as everything can be operated using voice commands and finger controls. “As well as describing the space, it works like a super-intelligent companion,” said Julia Franz, Meta’s Head of Public Relations.

Margarida Nápoles, NOS’s Director of Social Responsibility and Communication, explained: “Guia-NOS was born from the belief that technology creates real impact when it is designed with people in mind. By enabling blind people to understand more fully the environment around them, this solution strengthens their autonomy and inclusion.”

“It was as if I could see my father again”

Aliu walked onto the stage and put on the glasses, which include a built-in speaker in each arm. He was then handed a book. Aliu stared at the page and asked, “what am I seeing?”. Using the integrated camera, the glasses read what was on the page and began reading the text aloud. In this way, Aliu read the book to the audience without using braille - simply by looking at it.

The app was described as responsive and fast. “It’s been a truly transformative experience, it’s easier to navigate the underground and I no longer pick up the wrong products at the supermarket, for example,” said Francisco Dias, who lost his sight 15 years ago. “I hadn’t seen my father for a long time, I asked the glasses what they could see, and it was as if I could see him again through the description the glasses gave me,” he added.

After the presentation, several blind guests asked questions about both the app and the glasses, which are not yet available to buy in Portugal. Responding, Margarida Nápoles said the app is constantly being developed and continues to gain new features, such as real-time speech translation, audio description for films, and real-time user location. Location had already been considered, she noted, but it was not added due to concerns around privacy and the continuous sharing of a person’s whereabouts.

Blind and low-vision people will be able to try the glasses at NOS Alive

This year, in partnership with Meta, NOS will provide glasses free of charge to blind and low-vision people attending NOS Alive. Festival-goers will be able to try out the app and the glasses on site and experience the festival in a more independent and enriched way, with descriptions of everything happening around them.

Anyone interested should register via the Guia-NOS website. To access the app, users with more than 60% visual impairment simply need to visit the website, complete a form, and confirm their status with a multi-purpose medical disability certificate. NOS promises a quick process that is free of charge and fully confidential.

Text by Xavier Clemente, edited by Pedro Miguel Coelho