10:33, 23 February 2023
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 23, ARMENPRESS. Three Armenian developers teamed up to create BLiiNK – an AI-powered app designed to help people to improve eye health, correct sitting posture and boost productivity while working at a computer.
BLiiNK is the brainchild of Nairi Baghdasaryan, a nuclear engineer who started experiencing trouble with his eyesight when he was working as a data scientist, spending long hours at a computer. Developers Artashes Baghdasaryan and Artur Hovhannisyan joined him in realizing the idea of BLiiNK.
“BLiiNK is an AI-powered app designed to help people who use a computer to avoid problems with eye health and posture. We’ve designed a notification system which will make the working hours healthier and more productive,” Nairi Baghdasaryan told ARMENPRESS in an interview.
Baghdasaryan, a nuclear engineer by profession, earned his second PhD in Poland and returned to Armenia in 2020 a month before the war began. He started to learn programming and eventually began working as a data scientist for various companies. He started experiencing problems with his vision in 3-4 years. “My doctor said I need less screen time, and that I have to use artificial tear eye drops, but I was always forgetting to use them. That’s when I came up with the idea of BLiiNK. Artashes and Artur joined me, and as developers they understood the importance of the issue. My research showed that people blink nearly three times less while using a computer. The same goes for maintaining posture. By the way, posture impacts vision as well: a poor posture can lead to problems with vision, and it also affects the hormone levels and can lead to a number of other health issues,” Nairi Baghdasaryan said.
“I realized that the computer itself can remind the user to blink and maintain correct posture, which will eventually become a habit,” he added.
Once BLiiNK detects less blinking rate or incorrect sitting position, a notification will appear on the screen. Once you correct yourself or blink, the notification will disappear , and no mouse click is needed.
BLiiNK received investments from the FAST angle investor network, and a grant from GIZ after completing the Hero House Armenia Startup Academy accelerator program. Furthermore, BLiiNK got 10,000,000 drams under the Idea to Business project from the Ministry of High Tech Industry and then won a 3000-dollar prize at the SSS Holidays Vizag INDIA, getting ranked 1st in the Idea Stage category.
The co-founders are now developing a Mac OS version. They plan to enter the international market as well, namely the US, Canada, India and UK.
Currently, BLiiNK is available for Windows but the developers also plan to launch a mobile version of the app, designed not only to prevent vision and posture problems but a broad range of other health issues.
Karine Terteryan