Device provides real-time voice guidance on documents, objects and surroundings, helping visually impaired and low-vision visitors handle civil affairs independently
Seoul's Yongsan-gu district office has installed an AI visual assistance device at the information desk on the second floor of its General Administrative Town complex to help visually impaired and low-vision visitors, as well as others who have difficulty accessing information.
The newly introduced AI visual assistance device resembles a smartphone. When a user points its rear camera at a document or nearby object, the device recognizes printed text on application forms, identifies objects and reads surrounding conditions, relaying all of it through real-time voice guidance.
The device is expected to improve information accessibility and convenience for visitors through its AI-powered visual assistance functions.
Its key features include text recognition — reading printed characters on application forms, newspapers and bills — object recognition, which identifies nearby items such as banknotes and chairs, and people and situation recognition, which describes the user's surroundings including the direction and distance of nearby people, their facial expressions and clothing colors.
The device is available at the information desk on the second floor of the General Administrative Town complex, and any visitor can use it with guidance from a civil affairs counselor.
Until now, visitors with reduced vision due to visual impairment or age-related decline often had to rely on others to check document contents or understand their surroundings when visiting the district office. Yongsan-gu said it expects the device to allow visually impaired residents to handle civil affairs more independently, benefiting not only their convenience but also the protection of their personal information and privacy.
Yongsan-gu has been pursuing a range of efforts to improve access to administrative services for socially vulnerable groups. Alongside the AI visual assistance device, the district has installed barrier-free unmanned civil document kiosks designed for wheelchair users and number-ticket dispensers with Braille and voice support, as part of its push to create a barrier-free administrative environment accessible to all without discrimination.
"I hope the installation of the AI visual assistance device will allow visually impaired and low-vision residents to use civil affairs services more conveniently and independently," district Mayor Park Hee-young said. "We will continue to do our utmost to build a thoughtful administrative environment so that all residents — including people with disabilities and senior citizens — can use public services without inconvenience."
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