  Assistive technologies for the visually impaired have evolved to facilitate
interaction with a complex and dynamic world. In this paper, we introduce
AIris, an AI-powered wearable device that provides environmental awareness and
interaction capabilities to visually impaired users. AIris combines a
sophisticated camera mounted on eyewear with a natural language processing
interface, enabling users to receive real-time auditory descriptions of their
surroundings. We have created a functional prototype system that operates
effectively in real-world conditions. AIris demonstrates the ability to
accurately identify objects and interpret scenes, providing users with a sense
of spatial awareness previously unattainable with traditional assistive
devices. The system is designed to be cost-effective and user-friendly,
supporting general and specialized tasks: face recognition, scene description,
text reading, object recognition, money counting, note-taking, and barcode
scanning. AIris marks a transformative step, bringing AI enhancements to
assistive technology, enabling rich interactions with a human-like feel.
