Consumer health product manufacturer Haleon has announced a new collaboration with Microsoft to make it easier for people who are blind, have low-vision, or difficulty with reading to access information on packaging labels.
Together, the companies are expanding functionality in the Microsoft Seeing AI app to provide more detailed labelling information for consumers on over 1,500 Haleon lines across the UK and US. Seeing AI is a free mobile app for the visually impaired community, designed to narrate the world around them.
With the launch of Haleon’s ‘Always Read the Label,’ campaign for World Sight Day, people who are blind and those with low vision or low literacy are able to read labels through Seeing AI by scanning the barcode on Haleon products to hear important information such as name, ingredients, and usage instructions.
Through the enhanced functionality that Seeing AI offers, Haleon stated that it will help empower people to care for their own health independently by listening to the label information that’s narrated through the Seeing AI application.
In an independent study of visually impaired people commissioned by Haleon, 93% of respondents said they don’t feel health products are accessible enough and almost 1 in 5 have taken the wrong dosage as they couldn’t read the packaging effectively.
Tamara Rogers, Chief Marketing Officer at Haleon said: “Helping people access vital information on our products is one of our first initiatives as we do our part to make everyday consumer health more inclusive. We hope Microsoft’s Seeing AI capability to narrate labels across Haleon’s products brings greater independence to our consumers.”
The Seeing AI app was developed by a team of Microsoft engineers spearheaded by project lead and engineering manager Saqib Shaikh, who lost his sight at the age of seven, and was driven to develop the app by his passion for using technology to improve people’s lives.
Shaikh commented: “I’m really excited to see the launch of this enhanced product recognition functionality, developed in collaboration with Haleon. Seeing AI’s intelligent barcode scanner plays audio cues to help you find the barcode, and now the information displayed for Haleon products is coming straight from the manufacturer, providing richer information, including usage instructions and ingredients. This can be invaluable for someone who cannot read the label, leading to greater independence.”
