People with impaired vision can now avail of smart glasses.
Researchers from the Oxford University have developed smart glasses which will aid individuals with impaired or limited eyesight. The glasses will not be a replacement for lost vision, but will help individuals to have heightened spatial awareness.
The device has a video camera mounted on the frame of the glasses that will help in better navigation and will also help to avoid walking into obstacles.
It also has a computer processing unit that is small enough to fit into a pocket, along with a software which provides images of near-by objects through the display in the eye pieces of the glasses.
The transparent electronic displays where the lenses of the glasses are placed, give a simple image of the people and obstacles around. The camera also has a specially designed software which interprets the nearby surroundings allowing for better, if not complete clarity in vision.
A preliminary research was carried out in 2013 with a prototype which was tested on 20 volunteers suffering from a variety of eye conditions.
For people with impaired vision, social interaction is particularly difficult as they cannot clearly see the person in front of them, however, with these new glasses, details such as facial features will be easier to gauge. The glasses work more efficiently when in low light and can be used to assist with the problem of night blindness.
Dr Stephen Hicks of the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Oxford said, “The idea of the smart glasses is to give people with poor vision an aid that boosts their awareness of what’s around them – allowing greater freedom, independence and confidence to get about, and a much improved quality of life.”
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