Smart specs that will put blind in the picture: Glasses use perception of light to turn images into shapes that are brighter the closer they are

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• Bionic spectacles have tiny cameras in frames and a pocket computer
  
• They capitalise on a blind wearer's ability to see light by enhancing shapes
  
• The hi-tech eyewear will cost under £1,000 and could be available next year

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Smart spectacles that allow the blind to see have been designed by scientists.


They use tiny twin cameras and a pocket computer to capture information and alert the wearer to people and objects ahead.


In time, it could be even be possible for the blind to ‘see’ the displays on cash machines or read restaurant menus.



Vision: The spectacles use light perception to make objects close to the wearer easier to see

Liberating: The glasses capitalise on the fact that most registered blind people can still perceive light .




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The bionic spectacles will look like normal glasses, cost under £1,000 and could be on the market by the end of next year.


It is hoped they will be suitable for most of the 300,000 Britons who are registered blind.



Robert MacLaren, an Oxford University ophthalmologist said: ‘It has been the stuff of science fiction for many years but now we have the real prospect of electronic visual aids being worn as casually as glasses.’

Most of those registered blind can still perceive light and the glasses capitalise on this.
Pinhead-sized cameras in the frame take in the information the eyes should see and send it to a small computer in the wearer’s pocket.


There it is processed and simplified into a shape that is displayed on the lenses.

Sonic aid: The smart glasses could even interpret written information and relay the words via an earpiece

The closer the person or object is to the wearer, the brighter the shape.



While this might not seem much, it could allow the wearer to go shopping alone or take public transport.


An award by the prestigious Royal Society, will allow the development of computer software that could allow the glasses to recognise bus stops and capture bus numbers.
It may even be possible for the blind to read menus, with information captured by the cameras and processed by the computer passed on to the wearer via and earpiece.

Double vision: Two pin hole cameras on either side of the frames sense light and feed the information into a pocket-sized computer which the wearer carries with them

Other possibilities include being guided to the exit in a large building and the door’s handle being highlighted on the glasses’ lenses on getting there.


Dr Stephen Hicks, the Oxford University inventor of the glasses, said: ‘This is the beginning of a golden age for computer vision.


‘The latest research enables computers to not only see single objects like faces and words but to understand whole scenes.’


Royal Society vice-president, Professor Anthony Cheetham, said: ‘Dr Hicks’s work is truly inspirational; his invention has the potential to transform the lives of many.’

Recognition: Dr Stephen Hicks, above, said the invention hailed a 'golden age for computer vision'

Dr Hicks has completed a pilot study and plans to start testing a basic version of the glasses on large numbers of patients later this year.


The first smart spectacles could be on sale by the end of next year.



Although they will not be suitable for those who are completely blind, hundreds of thousands of people in Britain alone could benefit.


Source : Mail Online , 31st October 2013