{
  "id": 3159777,
  "title": "Harvard developers have made an AI app to help visually impaired users navigate",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/25/harvard-developers-have-made-an-ai-app-to-help-visually-impaired",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-08-25T01:37:39.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Digital Trends",
    "slug": "digital-trends",
    "url": "https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/harvard-developers-have-made-an-ai-app-to-help-visually-impaired-users-navigate/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Harvard researchers have developed an AI-powered app called Mobilio to assist visually impaired users with navigation. The app leverages a smartphone's camera, GPS, motion sensors, and LiDAR to help users follow routes, stay on walkable paths, and avoid obstacles. Mobilio was created after surveying over 100 blind and low-vision individuals to understand their needs in navigation technology. Early testing shows promising results, with Mobilio paired with a white cane helping users complete an outdoor route about 13% faster than Google Maps with a cane, and reducing contact with obstacles by roughly 41% on indoor courses. Unlike traditional navigation apps, Mobilio continuously analyzes the surroundings through the phone's camera, providing directional cues based on individual responses. The researchers trained the computer-vision model from a pedestrian perspective, addressing limitations in existing datasets. While still experimental, Harvard plans wider testing in Boston and explores potential future developments.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}