YeongSil for the visually impaired and elderly

The most powerful AI tools of the last three years all share an assumption: that the user can see a screen, read text, and tap small targets accurately. Phones, smart glasses, projector-based wearables, and even most "voice" assistants still require a visual confirmation step for anything beyond a timer.

The World Health Organization estimates that 2.2 billion people globally live with a vision impairment, and the number grows every year as populations age. A further large group — older adults with arthritis, tremor, or cognitive decline — finds touchscreen UIs functionally inaccessible even with normal vision. The current AI wave has, with very few exceptions, left this population behind. YeongSil exists in part to close that gap.

• Describes surroundings. "What's on the table?" — YeongSil uses its 12MP camera to identify objects, people, text, and obstacles in the room.
• Reads mail and labels. Hold a letter, a prescription bottle, or a tax form in front of the device. It reads the contents aloud and answers follow-up questions about it.
• Recognises faces. Once trained on photos of family members and caregivers, YeongSil can announce who's just walked into the room.
• Makes calls by voice. Through a paired phone bridge, the user can call any contact by name without touching a screen.
• Reads documents on request. Books, instructions, recipes, medical paperwork — any document loaded onto the device can be read or queried.

No setup. No apps. No screens. The device ships configured; a family member or caregiver plugs it in, says the wake word, and the user starts talking. There are no menus to navigate and no updates to install manually.

For older adults, YeongSil is meant to remove three sources of daily friction at once: forgetting medication schedules, losing track of which doctor said what, and being unable to reach family without help. It can remind, recall, and call — all through ordinary conversation.

Assistive technology has a long history of being priced out of reach. We don't want to add to that. Digitec runs an NGO partnership programme that subsidises hardware and subscription costs for accessibility organisations, schools for the blind, and elderly-care providers.

Partner organisations receive priority allocation when the device ships in 2027, discounted hardware in bulk, and a permanent non-profit rate on the Pro subscription. We're already in conversation with several Pakistan- and US-based partners and actively looking for more.