Voice Watch, the real-time commentary generation AI for the visually impaired, wins Best of Discipline at NY ADC

Dentsu Inc.'s real-time commentary generation AI for the visually impaired, "Voice Watch Supported by Toyota Mobility Foundation" (hereinafter Voice Watch), won the Best of Discipline award in the Artificial Intelligence category at the 102nd ADC Annual Awards. The awards ceremony was held in New York on May 17.

*The NY ADC Awards, established in New York in 1921 by the Art Directors Club, mark their 102nd year this year and are the world's oldest international advertising design awards. This year, 11,198 entries from 59 countries and regions worldwide were submitted. From these, 106 Gold, 120 Silver, and 162 Bronze awards were granted. The Best of Discipline awards were then selected from among the Gold winners in each category.

Kazuhiro Shimura, Creative Director of the project who attended the awards ceremony, stated: "We are deeply honored to receive this award. We hope this recognition will help more people learn about this product, leading to its wider adoption and further expansion. Moving forward, we aim to support more sports."

Overview of the award-winning "Voice Watch":

Voice Watch is the world's first real-time AI commentary generator enabling visually impaired individuals to experience motorsports.

Supported by the Toyota Mobility Foundation, it converts all race data into audio information, creating a system that generates commentary for visually impaired spectators in the stands at circuits where no live commentary is provided. It describes the race unfolding before them using camera footage. It also quickly detects and communicates signs of impending changes in the race by analyzing driving data. Furthermore, it employs a unique speech framework trained on the commentary expertise of professional announcers. Combining these elements enables the real-time generation of commentary phrases.

This "Voice Watch" system was implemented at Japan's largest endurance race, the "Super Taikyu," realizing a new motorsports viewing experience: "listening" to the race.

Furthermore, its application is expanding beyond racing into other sports. Last year, trials were conducted at athletic meets.
Moving forward, we aim to create a world where everyone, regardless of disability, can enjoy watching any sport.