We were interviewed by Swiss Radio on 3/29/2025 about Eye Navi from 08:48 to 14:00. The interview is in French, so I will introduce the content in English below.

（Episode 3）：Use of Technology in Everyday Life
But Cedric, you went to the other side of Japan and met developers of very specific applications for everyday life. Yes, I took the super express train to an industrial area in Kyushu, more than 500 km from here. The Computer Science Institute has released a smart phone application for the visually impaired. If the direction is correct, the application says it is the right direction and informs you that the pedestrian signal is red. This means a car. The application uses the phone's camera and displays a map. We enter our destination and go to a museum adjacent to a large steel mill in the city. We are in the industrial area of Kitakyushu to test the application. We are exchanging ideas with Project Manager Takada. Mayumi Seo, who is visually impaired due to an illness, carries her cell phone in a pouch around her neck. The app uses artificial intelligence to detect various obstacles on the road, such as cars, fences, and poles. It uses a combination of the smartphone's camera and Google Maps to analyze the environment and accurately guide the visually impaired. How can this app help you in your life? Normally you have to pay close attention to everything around you when you walk, but with this app it is as if there is someone beside you guiding you. It is a quiet environment here, and it is as if you are walking on a sidewalk with hardly any cars passing by. But it works just as well in town or in a train station, for example. When it is noisy, you certainly need to wear headphones to hear the app's instructions. Inside buildings and train stations is the next challenge. There are approximately 2 million visually impaired people in Japan, and this number is growing as the population ages. The country is often cited as an example of this type of disability, with floor markings, periodic audio alerts, and Braille translation, but innovation does not always equate to accessibility. A problem in Japan with modern technology is the self-checkout found in every store. At times, there is no staff to assist us and we have to use invisible touch screens. This is really an accessibility issue. The machines do not emit sound or electronic voice, so we do not even know how to use them. So while it is practical for some people, it is not very practical for us. How many users do you currently have in Japan? The application has been downloaded 20,000 times and is available throughout Japan, but in the future we hope to offer it worldwide. Now, you have arrived at your destination.

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