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Unilever has partnered with the accessibility app specialist Be My Eyes to expand its use of AI, adding new tools to its products to aid consumers who are visually-impaired. The new partnership expands on the introduction of on-pack Accessible QR (AQR) codes – developed by computer vision specialists Zappar – to Unilever’s Persil and Colman’s products in the UK last year. Unilever is initially trialling Be My Eyes technology in the UK with its Colman’s Singapore Noodles Meal Maker. If successful, the technology will be incorporated into more Unilever brands throughout 2024. By scanning the AQR code on the front-of-pack, shoppers will be directed to the free Be My Eyes app and connected either to a volunteer or to a virtual AI chat, which will read and explain recipes or address cooking questions, such as product details, usage directions, recycling information, ingredients and nutritional value. Zappar-developed AQR codes feature a dot-dash pattern around one corner, enhancing their detectability from a greater distance — up to 1.1 meters, over seven times the range of normal QR scanning. This assists visually impaired consumers in locating desired products in-store or at home. This is the first time the 100% free Be My Eyes AI technology has been integrated with a food product. Unilever’s customer support team will be integrated into the Be My Eyes app experience, allowing consumers the option to be automatically connected to Colman’s support team. Mike Buckley, CEO of Be My Eyes, said: “The 285 million blind and low vision consumers in the world buy the same products as everyone else. The difficulty in reading package ingredients and cooking instructions has long marred the cooking experience of these consumers. Unilever’s commitment to use new Zappar technology with Be My Eyes is pioneering a new era in product accessibility and disability convenience.” Caspar Thykier, co-founder and CEO of Zappar, said: "Our integration with Be My Eyes is a really significant step towards making access to information a basic human right. By combining Zapvision's computer vision technology with Be My Eyes' new OpenAI, ChatGPT4 Vision integration, we're excited to underpin a more conversational and assistive experience for Be My Eyes users with unambiguous, structured and accurate data.” Unilever will be working with Be My Eyes and Zappar to use feedback to optimise the technology. The company aims to roll out the accessible technology to other Unilever products across 2024.