Hi-Tech Bionic Glasses Could Help The Blind To See

Could special bionic glasses replace seeing eye dogs in the near future?

Possibly, as Oxford University researchers have developed glasses that use technology such as video cameras, face recognition, position detectors and tracking software to help people with impaired vision to see objects in front of them, The Telegraph reports.

"The glasses should allow people to be more independent -- finding their own directions and signposts, and spotting warning signals," Dr. Stephen Hicks, of the department of clinical neurology at Oxford University, told The Telegraph.

The technology is the same as that in smartphones and video games, and is meant for people who can see vague objects in front of them, but may not necessarily be able to make out finer detail, like the vision loss associated with macular degeneration or diabetes-induced retinopathy, Fast Company reported.

The glasses work like this: They have pinhead-sized cameras at the front to detect objects in front of the wearer, and an LED-light display built into the lenses to help with navigation and interaction. And, they hook up to a smartphone that provides the processing power.

The glasses could be ready for sale by 2014 if tests are successful, according to the Daily Mail.

This isn't the first technology that could give hope for people who have impaired version. Canadian companies are also developing glasses that use similar technology -- with cameras and LCD screens -- to help people with visual impairments to navigate better, CBCNews reported. And researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed a microchip that can be implanted into the retinas to provide visual information to the brain, CNN reported.

The FDA also last year approved a miniature implantable eye telescope that can help people with age-related macular degeneration to better see fine detail, The Charlotte Observer reported.

Hearing aids have gotten high-tech, too. A hearing aid that transmits sound through the teeth was approved this year in both the United States and Europe. Called the SoundBite, it attaches to the upper right and left molars to communicate with a microphone in the ear.

Photo credit: Sonitus Medical

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Comments

[pythy]

10:04 AM on 07/16/2011

The video is geoblocked in Switzerland (maybe elsewhere too): can you just briefly say what it is about, please? The glasses or the dental hearing aid?

[RudyHaugeneder]

10:45 AM on 07/15/2011

Good technology. Great to aid people with physical impairments. Terrific and overdue.
Now if we could only implant or put on something that actually makes us -- and our political and economic bosses -- smarter and able to anticipate and avoid the deficit and accumulated debt that is destroying ordinary citizens, the federal government, and a growing list of once-strong nations.
If the world continues on its current trajectory, the blind will continue to lead the blind, with only the physically blind able to avoid the pitfalls because of smart technology.

[CrazyEyes]

10:06 AM on 07/15/2011

Laforge!

[santasline]

08:55 AM on 07/15/2011

Holy Star Trek ..Batman

[Vimentin]

08:31 AM on 07/15/2011

This will have an effect on music.

[giddylockjaw]

10:32 AM on 07/15/2011

When Stevie Wonder sings "I like to see you boogie, Right across the floor" he will be able to do it with conviction like he never had before!

[artist-53]

08:20 AM on 07/15/2011

Interesting hearing device, using conductive hearing as opposed to sound waves that enter via the canal.

[jackieoclassist]

08:04 AM on 07/15/2011

....and here's Moby to provide us with a demonstration....

[Snapper Snap]

07:31 AM on 07/15/2011

Those glasses look like the ones Rachel Maddow wears. Totally out of style

[artist-53]

08:17 AM on 07/15/2011

Self perceived style vs. having the ability to see.

Which one is more important.

Well it's obvious, that you care more more about portraying an image rather than actual function.

Keep commenting, because I'm gaining insight into how minds like yours work or don't work.

[Pavane]

09:22 AM on 07/15/2011

I like Rachel's glasses. They fit her as an intellectual.

[Gary Krause]

07:20 AM on 07/15/2011

Radio Frequency ID (RFID) tags placed along sidewalks, streets, and throughout buildings coupled with GPS receivers could be integrated into a navigation system for the blind.

Visually impaired people could then use a receiver that would give them a precise location and even directions to a desired destination.

Gary Krause
Cherry Hill and Lawnside NJ
retired USCG

[KidSampson]

05:42 AM on 07/15/2011

So why is a computer-generated Moby modeling them?

[RKD84]

05:21 AM on 07/15/2011

How many seeing eye dogs are going to lose their jobs? How will they support their pups? Will there be jobs for them on the production line?

[Snapper Snap]

07:26 AM on 07/15/2011

Yet more unemployment as a result of this failed administration

[artist-53]

08:11 AM on 07/15/2011

spam/trl

[Jack Straw]

09:11 AM on 07/15/2011

Republicans campaigned on jobs in 2010 but the legislation they've produced is 98% social issues. Where are the jobs Mr Boehner?

[Snapper Snap]

07:27 AM on 07/15/2011

Spam

Your account needs to be banned

[temenos]

02:59 AM on 07/15/2011

Spam

[we-r-stardust]

04:49 AM on 07/15/2011

SPAMMER

[lucyfurr]

02:49 AM on 07/15/2011

I was so excited to see this as I have young friend blind since birth. And then I read this "is meant for people who can see vague objects in front of them, but may not necessarily be able to make out finer detail". I will still have hope. Although blindness is all my friend has ever known his soul is exquisitely humble and kind and not spoiled or enslaved by the limitations sight can create in our selfish, ego-driven worlds.

[hottingers]

02:41 AM on 07/15/2011

Fine, but where are the X-ray glasses we were promised?

[PBR Street Gang]

02:43 AM on 07/15/2011

TSA issue only.

[AquaBuddha]

04:29 AM on 07/15/2011

The sea monkeys swiped them.

[Snapper Snap]

07:28 AM on 07/15/2011

The big O wears them when he has his meetings with republicans