Silicon Valley is raising billions to develop wearable AI products. These 15-year-olds built theirs for under $100.

In a remarkable feat of creativity and innovation, three 15-year-old students from Santa Clara have developed AI-powered glasses that can convert text to speech in real time, all for under $100. Akhil Nagori, Evann Sun, and Lucas Shengwen Yen embarked on this project with a simple yet impactful goal: to provide a cost-efficient tool for visually impaired individuals, particularly students. Their prototype, which took five months to complete, utilizes a camera to capture images of text, processes the information using advanced software, and then relays the spoken words through tiny speakers embedded in the glasses. The trio's efforts recently earned them a $10,000 prize at the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge, where their prototype achieved an impressive accuracy rate of over 90% in translating text to audio. The concept for the glasses emerged after Nagori witnessed his great-uncle in India, who is visually impaired, struggle with a collection of braille receipts. This inspired him to create a more efficient system for reading text. The design process required overcoming significant technical challenges, including hardware setup and software development. The students used Fusion 360 software for designing the frames and employed 3D printing to realize their vision. Nagori explained that they based their design on the average dimensions of glasses suitable for middle and high school students. The glasses are equipped with a small computer board, a battery, a camera, and speakers, all meticulously integrated to ensure functionality throughout a typical school day. For the software, the team trained a convolutional recurrent neural network (CRNN) on a dataset of 800 images sourced from textbooks and other educational materials. They also conducted numerous tests to refine their model, ensuring it could handle various lighting conditions typical in classrooms. Their journey to success, however, was fraught with obstacles. Just hours before their presentation, a critical component of the glasses malfunctioned. In a frantic last-minute fix, they managed to repair the glasses with a soldering iron, showcasing their determination and teamwork. The Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge is a prestigious competition, with only the top 300 projects selected from around 2,000 submissions nationwide. The recognition not only validated their hard work but also provided them with valuable lessons in resilience and perseverance. Currently, the trio is focused on scaling their invention, having received a $5,000 grant to expand their project. They aim to implement their glasses in schools across California, utilizing a large 3D printer and multiple Raspberry Pis to increase production. As they move forward, they hope to make a meaningful impact on the lives of visually impaired students in their community.