Amai! Flanders selects ACA Group's AI application for people with visual impairments

The LiLi-app

The LiLi-app is a collaboration between ACA Group, Blindenzorg Licht en Liefde, VeBes, Vives Hogeschool, Open Street Map België and Stad Brugge.

This innovative app provides people with visual impairments the ability to travel safely and independently. With the LiLi app, they can find the safest route between two points in a sustainable way and travel it safely on foot. The app offers useful auditory instructions for recognizable points along the route, making navigation easier.

The Amai! project

Amai! Vlaanderen aims to inform citizens about AI and involve them in the development of new AI applications in Flanders. Amai! does this by bringing together AI experts, domain organizations, and citizens around four themes: climate and the environment, mobility, health, and work. For these themes, three smart AI solutions are being developed based on socially relevant questions. The development of these AI solutions always occurs in consultation with citizens, AI experts, and experts in the respective themes. This year, the project is progressing on three parallel tracks.

And so the Amai! project call was born.

The Amai! selection

The LiLi app was chosen in an online public vote with over 8,000 participants. Amai! provides a project subsidy of 125,000 euros to develop this smart AI application through a collaboration of computer scientists, AI specialists, citizens, citizen scientists, and domain experts.

Alexander Frimout, AI expert at ACA Group: “The development of the LiLi app marks a significant turning point in the application of AI for social welfare. Our goal is to create a tool that is not only technologically advanced but also genuinely life-changing. By integrating AI into the daily mobility of people with visual impairments, we enable them to navigate with more confidence and independence. This project is a wonderful example of how technology and human insight can come together to create real, positive impact in our community.”

Ronny Ruyters, CEO of ACA Group, explains: “This AI application for people with visual impairments is part of our strategy to focus on sustainable IT, technological innovation, and quality to positively impact society and enable a sustainable future. We are delighted and honored that this collaborative project between citizens, the government, education, civil society, and domain experts was selected by Amai! and chosen by a substantial online public jury.”