Rangers Sets UK First With Visually Impaired Fans Tech

Scottish Premiership club Rangers FC is pioneering a new artificial intelligence-based device designed to transform the stadium experience for blind and visually impaired fans.

The OrCam MyEye 2 device, which is wireless and attaches magnetically to any pair of glasses, uses artificial intelligence to analyse visual information and instantly communicate it to the user via audio.

The device, which will be available at the club’s Ibrox stadium in Glasgow, can read text, as well as recognise faces, products, colours and currency notes.

It is able to identify and communicate any printed or digital text off any surface, including newspapers, books, menus, street signs, and computer or smartphone screens.

Rangers Health, Safety and Access Manager Liz Kay said: “This is a huge step for the club towards helping blind and visually impaired fans. We have become the first club across all the professional leagues in the UK to purchase the OrCam device, which is a ground-breaking move.

“The impact it will have on our fans is immeasurable and it makes areas of the club, like stadium tours, inclusive to all. We are excited to put it into use now.”

Rangers pointed out that OrCam MyEye 2 will allow fans to receive information from a range of printed materials that could otherwise be inaccessible, including descriptions of the exhibits on the stadium tour.

If a fan has requested to use the device, upon arrival at the stadium they will be given a quick training session by a member of the Rangers staff and will then be able to borrow the device for the duration of their visit.

Staff members at Rangers are also working towards getting the device to recognise some of the exhibits on the stadium tour, such as an artist’s impression of legendary players, having been given a training session on how to operate OrCam MyEye 2 in recent days.

Ian White, a visually impaired OrCam user and trainer who led the training session, said: “OrCam make a huge difference to visually impaired and blind fans. For me, being able to read the programme on a matchday is a really big thing, it makes you feel much more part of the whole day.

“Using the OrCam brings a whole new dimension to the stadium tour: it’s really quite empowering to be able to access the materials on the tour without needing someone with me to describe what’s in front of me.”

OrCam, which manufactures the device, was jointly founded in 2010 by Professor Amnon Shashua and Ziv Aviram, who are also the co-founders of Mobileye, a technological device used to avoid collisions between driverless vehicles.