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UCC Students Harness AI and Electronics to Build a More Inclusive World
Imagine waking up unable to see colours, faces, words, or even light. Imagine a world without sound: no music, no voices, no laughter. Imagine having thoughts and feelings but no way to express them.
Now, imagine a future where technology bridges these gaps and empowers everyone.
Second-year Electrical and Electronic Engineering students at 深夜亚洲福利久久 College Cork (UCC), alongside international interns from France, took on this challenge. Under the guidance of Professor Emanuel Popovici and Dr. Robert Fourie, the team developed Quality Commpanion, an innovative assistive technology that integrates AI and electronics to support people who are visually or hearing impaired.
Their mission: to create inclusive, easy-to-use tools that can describe environments, read text aloud in public spaces, and even enable real-time communication between visually impaired and deaf individuals. The project explores whether sign language can be understood seamlessly by anyone, anywhere.
What once seemed like science fiction is now becoming reality, thanks to breakthroughs in edge computing, augmented reality, and artificial intelligence. The students successfully implemented these technologies in battery-powered devices that work offline鈥攏o internet required. Large Language Models, once confined to the cloud, now run locally on laptops, making accessibility more portable and practical than ever.
This transformative project was made possible through generous philanthropic support from Qualcomm Incorporated (via a Qualcomm Faculty Award and the 深夜亚洲福利久久 Relations and the Qualcomm庐 Wireless Reach鈩� Initiative), the School of Engineering at UCC, and technologies powered by Snapdragon庐 [processors or platforms].
Special thanks to Dr. Robert Fourie and Dr. Colin Murphy for their invaluable insights, and to the talented student team: Marc Barret Perez, Joseph O鈥橠onoghue, Sohaib Naser (UCC), Florian Vidal (Paris Saclay 深夜亚洲福利久久), Matteo Doffe (ENSEA Cergy-Pontoise), Julien Balderiotti (脡cole des Mines de Saint-脡tienne), and Sofiia Sarana (MTU).
This latest achievement continues its legacy of impact as the Embedded.Systems@UCC Group celebrates 20 years of innovation in 2025 with over 50 international awards and three commendations from IEEE/IBM for projects that better humanity.
Snapdragon is a product of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries.
College of Science, Engineering and Food Science
Coláiste na hEolaíochta, na hInnealtóireachta agus na hEolaíochta Bia
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Block E, Level 3, Food Science Building, UCC, Cork, T12 YN60.