Enhancing K-12 Meal Programs with RealSense ID
The challenge
Helping blind individuals perceive the world in real time is a complex task. Traditional tools like canes and guide dogs fall short in detecting obstacles and providing spatial awareness.
The solution
Eyesynth developed NIIRA, a wearable sensory system powered by RealSense™ D415 depth camera, which delivers real-time 3D perception and translates spatial data into intuitive, non-intrusive sound using bone-conduction audio.
The results
With RealSense™ depth technology at its core, NIIRA enables users to detect obstacles up to 5 meters away, navigate independently, and tailor their experience through AI-driven scene recognition, all without relying on GPS or external infrastructure.
Turning Vision Into Sound
Developing assistive technology that can convey spatial awareness to blind users is a complex engineering challenge: How do you accurately and non-visually represent a three-dimensional, dynamic world in real time — naturally, safely and intuitively?
Traditional tools like canes and guide dogs are essential for the visually impaired but limited. They don’t detect overhead obstacles like branches or awnings, nor do they provide sufficient range or context.
Antonio Quesada founded Eyesynth to bridge this gap using sensory substitution: translating vision into audio in a way the brain can intuitively learn and use.
The requirements for this technology were ambitious:
- Real-time 3D perception with extended range and accuracy
- Compact, wearable hardware with ultra-low latency
- Safe, intuitive auditory output that doesn’t interfere with speech or ambient sound
- Expandable software to support AI-based scene recognition and interaction
The challenge was as human as it was technical, requiring a decade of research, design and real-world testing.
Privacy-Focused Biometric Technology
Efficient meal programs are vital in putting students through a learning process. The traditional check-out methods tend to cause delays, which translate to missed meals altogether. With TKANNA, students need only glance at a RealSense ID camera for fast, secure identification and processing of payment. The system ensures privacy by turning facial data into non-reversible digital face prints and deleting images post-enrollment.
Accelerating the Transition to Cashless Checkout Solutions
Preliminary testing shows a 15-18% increase in meal program participation with TabletKiosk’s mobile point-of-sale solutions, with expectations to boost this further with TKANNA. By enabling faster checkouts, schools can process more meals, improve funding, and potentially reduce operator staffing requirements.
All-in-one package
TabletKiosk chose the full-featured SDK that comes with RealSense ID, enabling the company to easily integrate and provide customized solutions faster. Comprehensive documentation and features ready for immediate use saved significant investments that would have been required to develop such capabilities from scratch.
Choosing RealSense for Superior Performance
Key drivers for the selection of RealSense ID hardware included affordability, speed, and accuracy among the most important factors publicly funded nutrition programs needed. Its privacy-centric design and ease of integration make it an ideal solution for schools. It offers the best price-to-performance ratio, thus enabling schools to create innovative solutions within the budget of schools.
“When we looked at developing something similar from scratch, we realized it would have required millions of dollars of investment and years of development.”
— Martin Smekal,
President, TabletKiosk