PostMag talks to 5 women innovators at the top of their game and pushing the boundaries of scientific discovery: here we meet Florence Chan, co-founder and CEO of AI Guided
Great minds blazing a trail: meet the women who are leading the way in the realm of science and invention.
, differentiating between stem cells, cancerous and healthy ones. She was impressed with how efficient AI was in recognising their subtle differences. One day, while taking a break from the lab, she was strolling through a shopping centre when she spotted a group of visually impaired people navigating the mall with the traditional tools of the blind: canes and guide dogs. She wondered, “Could AI vision support them?”
and speaking to the visually impaired about what could best help them. Tools available in Europe and the United States that rely on GPS don’t work well in densely populated cities such as Hong Kong, because of interference from multiple devices.
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Chan was already having a busy year. Pregnant with her first child, she spent her maternity leave preparing a business proposal for an incubation programme, pitching it to the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park. It worked, and in 2020, she co-founded AI Guided, aiming to create a device that allowed AI to be eyes for the visually impaired.
Beginning with a rough idea on paper, she and her team worked through 20 prototypes over five years. They experimented with devices that could be worn on the chest and head, or as glasses, and eventually settled on a belt.
is worn around the waist and scans the surrounding area with advanced AI vision technology. It emits gentle vibrations from various points on the belt, warning the user of obstacles ahead, allowing them to walk with confidence.
, and is currently in its soft launch, with Chan, 39, and her team working on producing the first 100 belts, which have been pre-ordered and will be available in May. By the end of 2026, she expects the belts to be available for sale on the open market in Hong Kong and globally.
For many, technology can be a double-edged sword. Chan expects there to be a wider demand for the GUIDi as the increasing use of screens affect people’s eyesight the world over.
Origin story
I have always been curious about the world. As a child, I had an eagerness to find the explanations for things – why is a virus more powerful than a bacteria? Why does a virus attack people? I was a quiet child, so rather than asking people questions, I’d go to the library to find the answers myself.
Keeping it fresh
I’m a mother of two kids – a five-year-old and a one-year-old. Many of my friends are hesitating about having children. They question bringing kids into a world where there are so many problems, bad news and the threat of war. I think our world can be better and more inclusive, and this product can contribute towards that. I want to create a better world for our kids.
Challenges
My academic background is in engineering and starting out I had zero business sense. As well as working on the technical side, I needed to build the team, consider market information and how the company would survive, and also think about a business model. The five years I spent working on this wasn’t just about developing the product but also about my personal growth from scientist to entrepreneur.
From here on out
The start-up culture in Hong Kong has become even better and stronger since the Covid-19 pandemic. The incubation programme at the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park really helped create this community. They organise gatherings for founders for casual networking as well as training sessions and accounting talks. There is a comprehensive innovation ecosystem. There’s a feeling that you are not alone. There are many people around you, many founders who also want to do great things for the world. From time to time, when I have doubts or a question, I can ask someone in this network because I now have personal relationships with many founders.
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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.
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