Smartphone app offering AI-powered services to its users with visual disabilities

EMVI is an AI smartphone app for people with visual impairments. It combines scene and object recognition, real-time text, colour and emotion detection, QR/barcode scanning, navigation and voice Q&A. By mid-2025 it had 7,000 users in 45 countries and is subscription funded.

EMVI is a Bruges-based technology start-up company focusing on AI-driven assistive technology for people with visual disabilities. EMVI has launched a smartphone app, combining real-time scene description, navigation, object recognition, text reading and even emotion detection in a single voice-interactive platform. By mid-2025 the app was downloaded 750 times per day, used in 45 countries, and serving over 7,000 individuals. The company aims to grow quickly, including a launch in African countries.

Problems Targeted

People with visual disabilities lack a unified, intelligent tool for accessing visual and non-verbal information.

Solution, Innovation and Impact

EMVI delivers an AI-powered app for iOS and Android that combines advanced scene and object recognition, real-time text, colour and emotion detection, QR and barcode scanning, navigation, and art description in a conversational, voice-interactive environment. Users simply take a photo, ask questions, and receive instant audio feedback. By integrating multiple assistive technologies into one intuitive app, EMVI allows users to access visual, textual, and emotional information in real time – removing the need for multiple separate tools. EMVI can help you navigate a space by describing in detail what is visible. For instance, you can ask, “Where is the exit?” or “Is there a free seat on this bus?” If it cannot answer a question, it can prompt the user to speak again or provide more context. Features currently working best (based on user feedback) are object and text recognition, scanning QR codes and barcodes, and real-time Q&A via voice commands. Features currently being added or improved are enhanced context-aware filtering of irrelevant information; accurate recognition of labels, objects, and environmental cues; GPS routing system; and obstacle detection system Since its release in September 2024, by mid-2025 EMVI had already served more than 7,000 individuals with diverse visual impairments and was being used in 45 countries worldwide. Available in 37 languages, it has been downloaded an average of 750 times per day. EMVI is preparing to expand into African countries with upcoming features, including GPS navigation prioritizing safe routes and advanced obstacle detection.

Funding, Outlook and Transferability

EMVI is funded through subscriptions for end users (€4.99/month or €59.99/year) and offers institutional licenses for partnerships with service providers, museums, and other institutions, enabling also free distribution in low-income regions. (#ZeroCall26)

Pictures