CAIRO: A young Egyptian entrepreneur who lost his sight has developed an artificial intelligence-powered app designed to help blind and visually impaired people understand the world around them.

Twenty-year-old Mark Mourad developed an AI application called ScribeMe, inspired by his own experience of losing his eyesight and his younger sister Karen’s struggle with blindness.

Mark began experiencing vision problems in 2018. Doctors later diagnosed him with a rare and incurable optic nerve condition that eventually left him blind. His younger sister also lost her sight at a young age.

After becoming blind, Mark faced major challenges in education. While traditional screen readers could read text aloud, they struggled with photographs, diagrams, charts and complex equations.

Unable to find an existing solution that met his needs, Mark decided to build one himself. He taught himself programming through online tutorials and developed an early version of ScribeMe in 2023.

The app uses a smartphone camera and Meta smart glasses to analyze the surrounding environment and describe what it sees through audio. It can identify objects, explain scenes and provide information about distances and movements.

Mark’s sister Karen recently used the technology during a safari trip in Kenya. The app helped describe animals, their movements and their distance, allowing her to build a better mental picture of her surroundings.

ScribeMe is now being used by thousands of people across more than 140 countries and supports 20 languages, including Arabic.

The technology can assist users with everyday activities such as navigating classrooms, identifying shops, choosing clothes and accessing educational material.

One of the key advantages of using smart glasses is that users can receive information while keeping their hands free, potentially making the technology particularly useful while walking or navigating unfamiliar environments.

ScribeMe also won recognition at the Vodafone Egypt AI Assistive Tools Hackathon in 2024, helping the project gain further momentum.

Mark’s story shows how a personal struggle can inspire technology with the potential to improve the lives of thousands of people.

For Mark and his users, artificial intelligence is not simply about advanced technology—it is becoming a tool that can help people who cannot see better understand and experience the world around them.