Smart glasses that can help people with limited vision to navigate and avoid walking into obstacles have been developed by researchers at Oxford University.
The smart glasses, which consist of a video camera mounted on the frame of the glasses and a computer processing unit that is small enough to fit in a pocket, are designed to boost people's awareness of what is around them.
Images of nearby people and obstacles – such as kerbs, tables and chairs – are processed by specially-designed software, and projected onto transparent electronic displays, where the glasses' lenses would normally be.
The glasses don't replace lost vision but assist with spatial awareness, the researchers said. 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.
Dr Stephen Hicks of the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Oxford, who is leading the development of the smart glasses, said that they allow people with poor vision greater freedom, independence and confidence to get about