[access-uk] Re: Smart glasses help the visually impaired 'see' - Gadgets and Tech - Life & Style - The Independent
- From: "Tony Sweeney" <tonymsweeney@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2014 11:03:50 +0100
Thanks for this Gordon.
Was trawling for an article re same to post to the In Touch team so that
they may be interested in covering that great development posssibly going in
to it in greater depth.
BTW, It was one of the main items on our TV main news last evening.
Tony Sweeney
----- Original Message -----
From: "Gordon Keen" <gordonkeen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, June 18, 2014 10:33 AM
Subject: [access-uk] Smart glasses help the visually impaired 'see' -
Gadgets and Tech - Life & Style - The Independent
Ah yes it’s silly season again and here’s the annual panacea to blindness
article to prove it:
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/smart-glasses-help-the-visually-impaired-see-9545028.html
Smart glasses help the visually impaired 'see'
Researchers from Oxford University have created a pair of ‘smart glasses’
that allow severely visually impaired individuals to ‘see’ again.
The technology amplifies wearer's residual sight by combining video from a
pair of normal and infra-red cameras, processing these images in real time
and projecting hem onto the glasses’ lens.
Individuals who have tested the prototype reported massive improvements in
their vision, with one wearer, 70-year-old Lyn Oliver, able to navigate a
busy covered market without assistance.
Oxford University’s Dr Stephen Hicks, one of the leads on the project,
told the BBC: “If you're walking around you're able to navigate doorways,
and see hazards on the floor that might trip you up. So you can become
more independent and walk around with greater ease."
The prototype glasses are bulky - but researchers hope to slim them down
dramatically in the next couple of years.
Dr Hicks said that people “loved” the glasses: “They remark how much they
can see now,” he said. “They can see details in faces, they can see their
own hands. People have commented how they've seen their guide dog for the
first time. It's a real enabler."
The invention could help the nearly 100,000 UK citizens who are registered
as blind but can still see light as a smudgy and indistinct blur on their
vision. The Royal National Institute of Blind People described the glasses
as “incredibly important”.
The glasses are currently bulky and rely on an attached computer stored in
a backpack to process the images, but researchers are hoping that the
technology will be miniaturized swiftly. Scientists are hoping that they
can bring the cost of the device down to that of a mobile phone and are
planning to create a first batch of 100 sets before the end of the year
for further research.
Iain Cairns tries out the glasses while a laptop shows what he is seeing.
Iain Cairns, 43, also tested out the device, describing the experience as
“having a sixth sense, an extra superpower – knowing where to look and
pick out objects. It’s very exciting.
He added that the combination of cameras built into the glasses creates an
image similar to the famous sketch-effects of a-ha’s ‘Take On Me’ music
video.
“I can see your face,” said Cairns to journalists. “It’s […] like the Lord
of the Rings when he puts the ring on and sees things in a new way. That
tablecloth is looking lovely. It’s getting the pattern of the tablecloth.”
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