$16,000 prize for S’pore-developed AI assistant that carries out tasks for visually impaired users
Unlike Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa voice assistants, Sunday can execute multi-step processes on a smartphone.
A team of four students from Singapore has won a $16,000 prize for developing an AI-powered mobile phone assistant called Sunday. The assistant is designed to help visually impaired users navigate smartphone apps more easily by carrying out tasks with simple voice commands. Unlike other voice assistants, Sunday can perform multi-step processes like booking a ride, sending a message or shopping online.
Its creators believe it can benefit seniors and others who are less tech-savvy. Sunday works by converting spoken requests into text, which is then processed by Google’s Gemini AI system. The assistant narrates its actions and can perform steps like tapping, scrolling and typing on the phone. However, it stops when it encounters sensitive functions like Singpass login or banking.
Users have to complete these steps themselves. The team, led by Rajaselvam Kalyanaraman, tested Sunday with 73 people through the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped and other social service agencies. A beta version is expected to be available in the Google Play Store soon. The second prize of $11,000 went to EduNets, a platform that uses AI to help O-level students identify gaps in their understanding of subjects like chemistry, mathematics and biology.
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