[Nfbf-l] Smart glasses for the BLIND: Display turns the world into outlines to help people with poor vision 'see' obstacles

[Alan Dicey]

Dear Friends,
Well, if company after company after company keeps "inventing" and putting 
this sort of thing out, I believe sooner or later some company will get it 
right and  at a affordable price.
I mean, odds of probability and all that.
But just passing this along.
I am still betting on a "Technical Solution"  like a Computer Chip embedded 
in the Vision Cortex of the brain and a micro camera to send signals to it 
to "Cure Blindness".
With Best Regards,
God Bless,
Alan
Plantation, Florida

*****

Smart glasses for the BLIND: Display turns the world into outlines to help 
people with poor vision 'see' obstacles and faces
. Device has a video camera mounted on the frame of the glasses
. Software projects images of nearby objects to the see-through displays
. The glasses don't replace lost vision, but assist with spatial awareness
. They're designed for people who are severely sight impaired, but not
completely blind
. Prototype display could one day be the same size as standard glasses

By Sarah Griffiths and Fiona Macrae, Science Correspondent

Published: 10:46 GMT, 17 June 2014 | Updated: 22:28 GMT, 17 June 2014

High-tech glasses that allow the blind to see could be on sale as early
as next year.

The gadget, which is hoped to cost no more than a smartphone, will allow
wearers to 'see' movement and facial expressions.

It could also help those who are normally confined to their homes
navigate shopping centres or simply walk to the corner shop.

Revolutionary: The high-tech glasses which allow the blind to see could
be on sale as early as next year

HOW THE SMART GLASSES WORK

The smart glasses consist of a video camera mounted on the frame of the
glasses, a computer processing unit that is small enough to fit in a
pocket and software that provides images of objects close-by to the
see-through displays in the eyepieces of the glasses.

The transparent electronic displays, where the glasses' lenses would be,
give a simple image of nearby people and obstacles.

The camera with specially designed software interprets the nearby
surroundings allowing people to see important things much more
distinctly than before, such as kerbs, tables and chairs, or groups of
people.

The glasses don't replace lost vision, but assist with spatial awareness.

Anyone using the glasses looks through them to make the most of their
existing sight, with additional images appearing in their line of sight
to give extra information about who or what is in front of them.

The glasses work by combining information relayed by an infra-red beam
and normal video camera. A small computer processes the data before it
is projected
onto the lenses in the form of line drawings, with closer objects
appearing brighter.

One tester of the Oxford University prototype said the extra vision made
him feel like a superhero. Another could see her guide dog for the first
time.

It is thought that up to 100,000 Britons could benefit from the
breakthrough, which capitalises on the fact that most people who are
registered blind can still perceive light.

While they cannot be used by people who can see nothing at all, they are
designed for those who are 'severely sight impaired' and classified as
'blind'.

And despite the bulky prototype, the technology is advancing so rapidly
that researchers hope the final product will be no bigger than chunky
sunglasses.

They also want to add an earpiece which will scan the image and pass on
detail such as bus numbers by reading out loud.

Currently, under half of Britain's 365,000 registered blind people leave
their home each day. Lead researcher Dr Stephen Hicks said: 'The idea is
to give people with poor vision ... greater independence and confidence
and an improved quality of life.'

The technology allowed Lyn Oliver, 70, of Faringdon in Oxfordshire, to
see her guide dog Jess properly for the first time. Before this, she
could only see an isolated eye or ear.

The idea of the smart glasses (pictured) is to give people with poor
vision - who are severely sight impaired but can see a small amount - an
aid that boosts their awareness of what's around them - allowing greater
freedom, independence and confidence to get about

Smart glasses (pictured) have been developed to help people with limited
vision navigate and avoid walking into obstacles. The glasses work
particularly well in low light and can be used to cope with night
blindness. A view of what Iain Cairns (pictured) sees using the glasses
is shown on the tablet

'If Jess stops, the glasses tell me her if she's stopped because there's
a kerb, there's something on the floor or it's roadworks,' she said.
'This gives her a sense of which way she must go around the obstacle.

'If people are standing outside a shop talking, they often go silent
when they see me and watch me walk past. But they've disappeared as far
as I am concerned.
Have they moved? Have they gone inside the shop? There's a sudden stress
about avoiding them.

Lyn Oliver (pictured) who only has periphery vision and uses a guide
dog, trialled the glasses and said they removed 'a large amount of stress'

'The glasses help remove this layer of stress and they do it in a way
that is natural to the person using them.'

In some cases, details such as facial features can become easier to see
- making social interaction more natural.

The glasses work particularly well in low light and can be used to cope
with night blindness, the researchers said.

Fellow tester Iain Cairns, 43, of London, was able to make out the
pattern on the tablecloth when he tried on the glasses in a cafe. He
said: 'It's like having a sixth sense, an extra superpower - knowing
where to look and pick out objects. It's very exciting.'

He added: 'I can see your face. 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.

'It's like I've wandered into an 80s pop video. Everyone has cool A ha
drawings round them. It's now much more of a scene with several people in.'

Researcher Joram van Rheede added: 'I'm trying to be a sceptical
scientist ... but as we test more people it really becomes apparent that
there are a lot who we can significantly help.'

John Worsfold, of the Royal National Institute of Blind People, said the
development is 'incredibly important', and could offer blind people the
chance to 'carry out a normal life'.

Preliminary tests with 20 volunteers who have a range of eye conditions
and levels of vision have already taken place.

Iain Cairns (pictured) tried out the smart glasses in Oxford's Covered
Market. He said that the glasses add extra information and detail to
what he sees
and that everyone has 'drawings around them'. A version of what he sees
is pictured on the laptop

The scientists found that people could quickly get used to the bulky
glasses, but it was the third of people with the lowest vision that
really found benefits in getting around and avoiding obstacles.

Dr Hicks' team has set up testing venues in Oxford and Cambridge where
they can control the lighting and introduce obstacles to avoid.

A total of 30 participants with poor vision will be tracked as they
navigate through obstacle courses, with and without smart glasses.

The research and development of the glasses is funded by the National
Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and the trials are being carried
out with the support of the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB).

The team will next look at how to add features such as face, object or
text recognition into the glasses, as well as an audio prompt via an
earphone,
which could give wearers more information about who or what they are seeing.

The group is also beginning to see how people respond with the glasses
in indoor spaces like shopping centres.

Dr Hicks of Oxford University is pictured wearing the innovation. 'We
eventually want to have a product that will look like a regular pair of
glasses and
cost no more than a few hundred pounds,' he said

Source URL \
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2659993/Smart-glasses-BLIND-Device-transforms-world-outlines-shapes-help-partially-sighted-navigate.html

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