New smart glasses to help the visually impaired

Amidst the great selection of smart wearable devices in the market, smart glasses were the first product known to the world. However, due to the relatively narrow application scenario and scope of smart glasses, they cannot easily enter our lives unlike smart bracelet watches.

Fortunately, just this year, Envision announced its latest release at the CSUN Assisted Technology Conference. Envision glasses were initially paired with iOS / Android smartphone applications, but have operated independently since. Their software runs on a Qualcomm quad-core processor and on Google Glass Enterprise Edition 2’s hardware.

Envision glasses are equipped with artificial intelligence AI system support. In addition to providing a variety of application support for the visually impaired and amblyopia group, it can also provide support for viewing surroundings, object recognition, color detection, face recognition and other functions, so that the visually impaired and amblyopia group can enjoy more convenience and safety in daily life.

Depending on the mode chosen, it can identify any book printed in more than 60 languages or extract various texts from reading materials and convert text to speech. The recognition function comes from the highly efficient optical character recognition (OCR) system used by smart glasses.

Whenever a user needs to understand the situation in front of them, they first swipe the right arm of the glasses to select a mode guided by synthetic voice feedback from an integrated speaker. Once a mode is selected, the user double-taps on the glasses arm to record the image, which is processed by the system’s AI-based algorithm.

The wearer can accomplish daily travels independently with the help of the glasses. When the wearer is walking on the road, the glasses will help to navigate, identify road obstacles, traffic signs, etc., which are all challenges for the visually impaired. If the wearer does not want the audio of the glasses to play externally, use a wired or Bluetooth wireless headset supported by the device.

Most impressively, it can be used to assist in video calls, with another viewer verbally instructing the wearer by watching real-time feedback from the glasses; this is useful for identifying different colors in situations such as when washing clothes or buying clothes. Or, it can search for a specific person or object and prompt you when the person / object appears in front of its 8-megapixel camera.

The Envision glasses also have a very good hardware configuration, not only with the IP53 waterproof performance, but also with a built-in multi-sensory gesture touch pad. Just swipe to select the functions you need. The Envision glasses weigh about 46 grams, and the lithium battery can run for four to five hours per charge, allowing for a day’s usage. It also supports WIFI and Bluetooth connectivity, and is compatible with most current mainstream devices, with built-in mono speakers and a microphone for voice control and voice feedback.

Hopefully more and more technological products can bring benefits to the human society, just like in science fiction movies where we can keep looking forward to a better future!