SparkVision Assistant

SparkVision Assistant is the companion app for blind and low-vision users of SparkVision smart glasses. It turns the glasses camera into speech: text, objects, money, colors, labels, receipts and whole scenes, described aloud and hands-free.
WHO THIS APP IS FOR
It is built for people who are blind or who have low vision — no light perception, severe visual impairment, or residual sight. Every feature exists to replace visual information with spoken audio. It is not a general-purpose camera, magnifier or productivity app.
WHAT IT DOES
• Read text aloud — pages, signs, labels, screens
• Describe environment — what is in front of you, nearest first, including hazards
• Continuous scene description — updates as you walk
• Find object — tells you when an object comes into view
• Money — recognizes banknotes
• Colors — names the color of what you point at
• Light — finds light sources in a dark room
• Food products — labels, allergens, expiry dates, prices
• Receipts — totals and line items
• Public transport — approaching vehicles and routes
• Date and time
• Voice assistant — ask aloud, hear the answer
• Call a friend — a live video call so a sighted helper sees what your camera sees
• Navigation — spoken walking guidance with a stereo audio beacon
• Offline mode — core features run on your mobile device, no internet needed
• Available in 11 languages
ACCESSIBILITY SERVICE: WHAT WE USE IT FOR, AND WHY
SparkVision Assistant includes one optional accessibility service, "SparkVision Ring Control".
What it does: it lets a paired ArcX smart ring — a Bluetooth ring worn on the finger — control your glasses while the app is in the background or your mobile device's screen is off. Android delivers the ring's button presses as volume and media key events. The service uses the AccessibilityService key-event filtering API to receive only those key events and convert them into glasses commands: next item, previous item, select, back, and play/pause audio.
Why this API is required: Android routes Bluetooth HID key events to the system volume and media controls, or to whichever app is in the foreground. No narrower public API allows a backgrounded app to receive them. Without this service a blind user would have to unlock their mobile device, locate the app on the screen and keep it in the foreground to use the ring — removing the eyes-free control the ring exists to provide.
What this service does NOT do:
• It does not read screen content. Window-content retrieval is switched off, so the app never inspects what is displayed on your mobile device or in any other app.
• It does not record audio, capture the screen, or perform gestures or taps on your behalf.
• It does not change any of your settings, and does not prevent you from disabling or uninstalling anything.
• It does not collect, store or transmit any personal or sensitive data. Ring button presses become glasses commands and are sent over Bluetooth to your glasses only.
• It leaves your mobile device's own hardware volume buttons untouched, so your screen reader's volume always keeps working.
It is optional and off by default. You turn it on under Devices → Ring, and Android asks for your explicit consent in Settings → Accessibility. You can turn it off at any time in the same place; every other feature keeps working without it.
Because its core purpose is to directly support people who are blind or have low vision, SparkVision Assistant is designated as an accessibility tool.
PRIVACY
Camera images are processed to produce spoken descriptions, never sold or used for advertising. Offline mode keeps processing on the device. See our privacy policy.
REQUIREMENTS
SparkVision smart glasses, paired over Bluetooth. The ArcX ring is optional. Voice assistant, calling a friend and transit detection need internet.