Show HN: Image Describer Chrome Extension

2 points by ckundo 17 hours ago

Image Describer is a Chrome Extension that uses AI to describe content in the browser for blind and low vision people. A person can get a description either through the content menu or with a keyboard shortcut. The description is announced back to the user, and is also available as text for review. The extension also supports a multi-turn interface to dig deeper into the image.

I've seen a few other examples of similar tools, including some very rudimentary built-in features in Chrome. More recently I saw a couple threads on a SaaS based approach, e.g. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42886440 that are interesting but pretty different than what I'm showing.

My approach is novel because it includes some surrounding context about the page, that's important from generating a useful description. It also supports multi-turn conversations. Finally, it doesn't replace alt text per se; it provides added context in the client and doesn't override the native alt text.

This is my first time sharing this project, and I'm happy to hear feedback especially from blind or low vision people as I work on a new release. Feel free to message me at cameron@accesslint.com. Thanks!