Indian wearables apply biometrics, tokenization for accessibility and convenience

A youth innovator competition in India spawned an assistive device that leverages biometrics to help the visually impaired better navigate the sighted world, while an app lets users tokenize their payment method to pay by ring and other novel IoT devices.

Indian assistive device wins international youth innovator challenge

Blind Eye is a wearable assistive device that uses a combination of obstacle detection, facial recognition, and multilingual text reading to support visually impaired users. The device was one of the winners of the 2023 imaGen Ventures Global Youth Challenge, an initiative to unite young innovators, powered by Generation Unlimited, according to UNICEF.

The device provides audio commands and feedback to give blind people more insight as they navigate the sighted world. It can recognize faces with biometrics and analyze expressions and movements as well as describe objects. Real-time obstacle detection whispers a warning before someone might bump into something, while multilingual text-to-speech reads text aloud.

T Ravi Kiran, an 18-year-old, developed the device during a pilot program run by Generation Unlimited in India at UNICEF in Telangana. The Ministry of Higher Education and Ministry of Information Technology for the government of Telangana were partners of the program. The pilot was part of Telangana’s Youth for Social Impact initiative, and will now be scaled up under the global program imaGen Ventures. When Kiran’s creation was shortlisted, he received access to mentorship and seed money to further develop his prototype before showcasing it to stakeholders.

“We are planning to donate this device to visually impaired individuals who can’t afford it, through partnerships with NGOs and companies,” says Kiran. “Additionally, we are making the device available in some government portals like GEM (Government e-Marketplace).”

App with Tappy, Thales tech lets customers pay with rings, clasps, or stickers

In partnership with biometrics provider Thales and IndusInd Bank, digital payment provider Tappy Technologies has launched the Indus PayWear App, a tokenization system for wearable payments in India.

Once a customer’s card is tokenized through the app, it can be added to Indus PayWear Rings, Clasps, or Stickers that leverage Thales Secure Element Chip for contactless payments.

“Now, with our smart technology, we’ve made your physical accessories like rings and stickers more secure than your card,” says Tappy Technologies CPO Prashanth Dappula. “We make sure that the long card numbers are kept secret, and a super-strong protective layer keeps your real card details safe inside your accessories.”

Article Topics

accessibility  |  biometric payments  |  digital payments  |  India  |  Tappy Technologies  |  Thales  |  wearables