Imphal, Mar 22: A Manipur-based small start-up, Akumen AI, was selected as one of the six start-ups to interact with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the start-up Mahakumbh event in New Delhi.
In what could be termed an inspiring story, a Manipur-based small start-up, Akumen Artificial Intelligence, has developed a device that they describe as a wearable assistive device for visually impaired people.
Thiyam Akhuvan, founder and CEO of the company, informed The Assam Tribune in a telephonic conversation that the device utilises advanced AI to capture and interpret text, faces and objects, aiding the blind in understanding their surroundings.
The CEO of the company, while reflecting on the achievement of his start-up, said that Akumen AI had also won the NITI AAYOG's “Atal New India Challenge” and “the Entrepreneurship World Cup For Eastern Region." He further said that Akumen AI is also supported by Meta (the Facebook parent company) through the Meta MEITY accelerator program.
About the device, Thiyam Akhuvan said it will be a helpful device for visually impaired people, as the response so far has been quite heartwarming. He said whenever he interacted with blind people about the device, they showed excitement and appreciation.
He said even though such devices are available in the international market, they cost around five to six lakhs; however, the newly developed device is cost-effective in the sense that it costs only a few thousand rupees (around fifteen to twenty thousand only).
While interacting with the Prime Minister, according to the CEO of the company, Modi himself has given several useful pieces of information. He said the PM already has prior knowledge about such devices and has shown keen interest in the device.
Akhuvan further expressed gratitude to AIC-SMUTBI for all its support without which it would not have been possible.
