Expirate

Overview

Expirate is an AI-powered app that help visually impaired person to scan expiration date of medicine, so they can check the medicine name and its expiration date independently.

• Platform: iPhone

Problem

Visually impaired individuals face a daily challenge when managing their medication, as important information like expiration dates is often presented only in small printed text on packaging. Without accessible formats such as braille or audio support, they must rely on others to verify whether a medicine is still safe to consume. This dependency becomes especially problematic in urgent situations when assistance is not immediately available. As a result, there is a real risk of consuming expired medication, which can be ineffective or even dangerous. This gap highlights the need for an independent, accessible solution that enables visually impaired users to quickly and confidently identify medication expiration dates on their own. The goal is provide an AI-powered solution that enables users to independently, quickly, and safely identify expiration dates, improving both accessibility and everyday confidence.

User Persona

A visually impaired individual who lives independently and regularly consumes medication or vitamins. They rely on non-visual cues such as audio or touch to navigate daily tasks and prefer simple, accessible technology that allows them to perform essential activities—like checking medicine safety—without depending on others.

Pain Points

• Cannot read small or low-contrast expiration dates on packaging
• Relies on others to check medicine safety, reducing independence
• Help is not always available when needed, especially in urgent situations
• Difficulty using camera-based features without proper guidance or feedback
• Challenges navigating apps that are not fully accessible
• Risk of consuming expired or unsafe medication
• Difficulty distinguishing between similar-looking medicines or products

Research

The research process began with understanding the daily experiences of visually impaired individuals through interviews and observations, focusing on how they manage medication and identify expiration dates. Insights revealed key challenges such as difficulty reading labels, reliance on others, and struggles with using cameras or inaccessible apps. These findings were then synthesized into user personas and pain points, helping define the core problem. From there, we explored existing accessibility solutions and validated the need for an independent, audio-supported approach, which guided the direction of designing an AI-powered scanning experience tailored to their needs.

Solutions

• Use AI-powered OCR to scan and detect expiration dates from medicine packaging
• Provide instant audio feedback (text-to-speech) to read out the results
• Automatically identify and interpret various expiration date formats
• Guide users with voice cues to correctly position the product in the camera frame
• Display clear status indicators (safe, near expiry, expired)
• Enable offline functionality for accessibility anytime, anywhere
• Design a simple, accessible interface optimized for visually impaired users
• Reduce dependency on others by enabling independent verification of medicine safety

Outcome/Impact

• 16% of test accuracy in initial evaluation. Need for improved dataset diversity and model refinement. Also highlights challenges in detecting medicine labels in real-world conditions.