Scottish Premiership football club Rangers has claimed a UK first with the adoption of a device to support blind and visually impaired fans at Ibrox.
The new artificial intelligence OrCam MyEye 2 device, which has the ability to read text, recognise faces, products, colours, and currency notes, is now available for use at the club’s home ground in Glasgow.
“This is a huge step for the club towards helping blind and visually impaired fans,” said Rangers’ health, safety and access manager, Liz Kay.
“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 device, which is wireless and can magnetically attach to any pair of glasses, uses AI technology to analyse visual information and instantly communicate it to the user via audio.
Fans who request to use the device for a tour will be given a quick training session by Rangers staff, and will then be able to borrow the device for the duration of their visit.
Ian White, a visually impaired OrCam user and trainer, said: “OrCam makes a huge difference to visually impaired and blind fans. For me, being able to read the programme on a match day 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.”
Image: Thomas Nugent
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