[AI Revolution](99) GLOMO Award Winner 'TwoArt'... "Using AI to Help Visually Impaired Read Menus"

GSMA Awarded Again This Year Following 2022
AI in Camera Recognizes Visual Impairment Situations and Environments
Provides Voice Descriptions

The startup 'TwoArt,' which has been sweeping awards at prestigious international ceremonies, is developing the AI-based visual assistance voice guidance service called the 'Sullivan Series.' Since 2021, it has been collaborating with SK Telecom to enhance the service.

TwoArt won the 'GSMA Global Mobile Award (GLOMO)' at the 2022 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, and last year received the CES Innovation Award for its smart document recognition service SullivanA. In February this year at MWC, it won the GLOMO again with 'SullivanFinder,' which added features for everyday life categories.

Recently, we met with TwoArt CEO Suwon Cho in Hannam-dong, Seoul. Despite multiple awards, he said, "Since the application for judging was made before the launch, there was no evaluation of the service, so winning was really unthinkable," adding, "It seems we won because the essence of the service was evaluated rather than external assessments."

AI Revolution - Interview with ToArt CEO Jusuwon. Photo by Yongjun Cho jun21@

The recently awarded SullivanFinder is an AI-based service that helps visually impaired people accurately recognize their surroundings and objects. When the app is launched, the camera turns on, and the AI recognizes the visible screen and describes it through voice. For example, if you point it at a franchise bakery, it says, "There are breads displayed, and Americano is sold for 1,500 won," reading even the promotional poster attached next to the door. There are modes for everyday life categories such as shopping, restaurants, and walking, which can be selected according to the situation. CEO Cho said, "What visually impaired people struggle with in restaurants is that when they go to eat together, the menu is not read to the end," adding, "Even if they eventually choose jajangmyeon at a Chinese restaurant, they want to check the information on the menu." The 'essence' connected to the award was the empowerment of visually impaired people to obtain information independently.

The service development began when a friend known to the CTO and company developers became visually impaired due to a brain tumor. CEO Cho said, "When (the friend) lost sight and could not go out at all, the CTO came up with the idea of making an app using AI," adding, "Although Microsoft (MS) had a service, it was not available domestically, so the idea started from 'let's make an app that visually impaired people in Korea can use.'"

AI Revolution - Interview with ToArt CEO Jusuwon. Photo by Yongjun Cho jun21@

Through the partnership with SK Telecom, the TwoArt Sullivan Series is becoming more advanced. SullivanFinder now applies SKT’s multimodal AI, which has learned from 1 billion images and detailed descriptions, instead of the previous AI. This enables more specific and appropriate explanations that were not possible before. CEO Cho emphasized, "Usability has greatly improved, so it can better assist the mobility of visually impaired people."

CEO Cho aims to achieve clear results in the disability service market and leave a precedent. TwoArt, which has already entered the global market, is preparing to launch wearable devices targeting its secured users. SullivanPlus is used in more than 200 countries and has been downloaded by over 300,000 people. Domestic users exceed 50,000.

CEO Cho said, "We had a booth at an exhibition in Japan, and one visitor said that his younger brother also uses our service," adding, "The services we already provide serve as marketing channels, so accessibility is expected to be even better when we launch hardware."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.