I needed the registration number off a plate on the back of a fireproof safe, or at least a picture of the plate that could be read by a sighted person at some point, and written on a form etc, etc. I'm not going to lug the safe around the neighborhood on a dolly to try to get someone to read it..--and thinking about it, that could lead to horrible things...--so I decided to try out the save image option in the Scene Description channel with my iPhone, instead of the Camera app.
After getting through all the permission settings, I took an overall pic for proof of existence. That's when I noticed the pictures from Seeing AI are in JPEG format, rather than the Apple format. I suppose that's actually a good thing in this case because it is a more universal format, if I want to keep them as a record. It had a Save button in the scene Description, so I tried that, instead of the Share, and it sent it directly to the camera roll.
In the end, both the Voice Over description and the Seeing AI description told me I had a picture of the silver rectangle, and the information on it. I had to use the More Information option to get Seeing AI to read the text though. I decided to try to get a picture of the plate by way of the Document channel just to be sure I got the whole plate in the frame. That's when I noticed the Document function only has a Share option, and no quick save to the camera roll.
The last thing was the trickiest. The safe also has keys with a number code etched on them for replacement purposes. I got the number with the Short Text channel, but I wanted a picture, just in case. I had to use the Ask Seeing AI feature in the Scene Description channel to get it to read the number to be sure it got in the picture. Though the More option was very helpful at telling me what position in the frame the keys rested. Voice Over description just said keys.
I think the Seeing AI app was more helpful at being sure I had the picture I wanted, but the Voice Over description was easier to get the information without a bunch of steps and hoops, except for the key numbers. There's probably a way to save Apple format photos into JPEG, but I would have to look it up and do extra steps, so I might keep Seeing AI in mind as a quick and dirty way.
By OldBear, 24 October, 2024
Forum
iOS and iPadOS
Comments
That's cool
Hi Old Bear,
That's interesting. But did you get someone sighted to check if the numbers you were given were accurate? If everything was accurate, then that is truly useful and cool.
That will have to wait
When I get together with someone I trust to read things for me, I'll have them look at the picture and find out. The AI is able to pick out numbers, so I'm hoping a sighted person could also read the numbers from the picture. It would mostly be for if there is a defect in the safe and any warranty etc, so not too urgent.
It's mostly for documents, which I've already done all the tedious PDF scans of, but I'll have to do pictures of some of the other items that go in there for insurance, and that's the important part. Definitely will have a trusted looker look at those.
One of the best...
... and most underestimated application on iOS. Seeing AI is a mighty tool and I am happy for you, that you got some good use out of it. 😀👌
Short Descriptions
I use the Short Descriptions channel the most, and have it to be the first channel up because I'm usually trying to find out what the mail or document is. The Document channel works great with a scanning setup for reading multiple, loose pages because it takes the pic as soon as it sees four corners.
My complaint about the app is that the take-picture button can require swiping, rather than having a large button on the screen or using the volume button, like with the camera. Same with it not working with my bluetooth, picture clicker. That would speed things up a lot in some cases.
Also, there seems to be a slight lag in switching channels. Or maybe my complaint is that I'm always in a hurry and impatient and expect too much, too fast.
No, you are not wrong...
There is some weird lag when switching channels. I think they could have done better, had they done it the Android way; that is to say with buttons rather than an action gesture.
You can, nevertheless, add Siri shortcuts for pretty much every channel, then activate them as such:
> Hey Siri, recognize Short Text.
> Hey Siri, recognize Document.
> Hey Siri, recognize Currency.
> Hey Siri, recognize Light.
And so on, and so on.
HTH. 😊
OldBear
What about using face time with someone you trust? That person can check if the number are correct instead of waiting to see someone.
More stuff to figure out
@Brian, I'll think about looking into that. I've only used SIRI to call contacts for the last several years...
@Holger Fiallo, that would work, or even just sending the picture, but at the moment, I'll have to wait no matter what I do. I just... don't trust anyone that's available.
OldBear
No worries. If you decide to use the Siri shortcuts, there is a couple of steps to enable the ones you want, but basically open SeeingAI, then tap on the Menu button (top left of screen), then settings, then Configure Siri shortcuts. You can also configure Haptic shortcuts, which will allow up to 4 shortcuts on the app, when you triple click on the app with one finger.
HTH. 😊
Oh!
Thanks! I thought you were talking about that shortcut app that everyone keeps saying doesn't work with VO. If it's in the Seeing AI settings, that doesn't inspire any anxiety, mortal terror and perpetual hesitation over touching incomprehensible things that might break.
Small issue
* Never mind, I found it.
Did a couple more pics through Seeing AI and just noticed the JPEG photos from Seeing AI can not be edited to have the markup text that iOS/VO reads in the Photos app. Not too big a deal for now because VO is reading any text and describes the pic, also sharing a copy to the Files app where I can title the file and so on.
Conversion
I believe you can convert those Jpg files into something else right inside of iOS. Just google something like, "Convert Jpeg on iOS", or something similar to find your answer. 🙂
Oops
Never mind, I was just looking for the Edit button in the wrong place, and also not swiping enough. Explore by touch just doesn't cut it in a lot of apps anymore...
Thanks for the detailed report
This is Saqib from Seeing AI - we'll see how we could make this scenario even smoother with Seeing AI. And if you have specific requests, always love to hear those too!
@Saqib
Thank you, Saqib. Seeing AI is great. The Ask Seeing AI feature has recently turned out to be very helpful at figuring out if a document is upside down or right side up, especially if I'm needing to rotate the picture in the Photos app.