When Emmanuel Quartey temporarily lost hearing in one ear in February 2024, the impact was immediate. Everyday conversations became frustrating, and even simple interactions required more effort than he was used to. It was the first time he had experienced, even briefly, how losing one sense could reshape everyday life. Then a friend asked him a question that would redirect his ambitions as a young engineer.
“Imagine it was your eyes. What would you do?”
Emmanuel Quartey at a presentation during the CEO of Ghana Digital Centres Limited’s year of impact press conference. Image Source: Emmanuel Quartey
At the time, Quartey was a second-year Information Technology student at Pentecost University in Ghana, experimenting with computer vision and artificial intelligence. He had already spent years building automation systems, robotics projects and agricultural technologies. Assistive technology had never crossed his mind.
But the question stayed with him.
