“Smart Glasses Transform Lives of Blind Users”

The usefulness of smart glasses is still being talked about. For people who can see, they might seem like a cool gadget that shows what is already in front of them. But for blind and visually impaired people, these glasses can be life-changing.

Blind people are using smart glasses more and more to help with everyday tasks. Simple questions like, “Does this restaurant serve fish?” can be hard to answer without sight.

Some small companies are now making smart glasses especially for blind people. A few of these startups are showing their products at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. They are also making apps and tools to make smart glasses even more helpful.

Aaron Preece, who is blind and the editor-in-chief of AccessWorld magazine (from the American Foundation for the Blind), explained the difference. For people who can see, smart glasses mainly show what they already notice. “But for blind people, it’s useful,” he said.

Smartphone apps can help, but they usually need to be held in the right direction. Preece said, “If it’s on your head, it’s definitely a lot more intuitive.” This means smart glasses make it easier to get information without holding a phone.

According to the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, 43 million people worldwide are blind, and another 295 million have serious vision problems. This shows many people could benefit from smart glasses.

Some popular smart glasses today are Meta’s AI glasses, which come in Ray-Ban or Oakley styles. They can describe what is in front of the user using voice commands. The Be My Eyes app also lets volunteers describe what the camera sees in real time.

A California company, Agiga, made EchoVision glasses. They worked with blind users, including music legend Stevie Wonder, to design them. Agiga says their glasses give more detailed and clearer audio descriptions than other products.

Smart glasses for blind people are still new, but they are already helping in practical ways. With more development, they could become an important tool for millions of people with blindness or low vision.