Prototype glasses use video cameras, face recognition to aid those with limited vision

We can’t lie: we like us a heartwarming story about scientists using run-of-the-mill tech to aid individuals with disabilities, especially when the consequences are decidedly bionic . Today’s tale centers on a team of Oxford researchers developing sensor-laden glasses able to displaying key information to individuals with poor (read: nearly eroded) vision. The frames, on display on the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition, have cameras mounted at the edges, while the lenses are studded with lights — a setup that enables people plagued by macular degeneration and other conditions to work out a simplified version in their surroundings, up close. And one of the best part, really, is that the glasses cull that data using garden-variety technology equivalent to face detection, tracking software, position detectors, and depth sensors — exactly the variety of tech you’d look forward to finding in handsets and gaming systems. Meanwhile, the entire processing required to acknowledge objects happens in a smartphone-esque computer which may easily fit inside a pocket. And while those frames won’t exactly appear like normal glasses, they’d still be see-through, taking into account eye contact. Team leader Stephen Hicks admits that vision-impaired people should get used to receiving most of these flashes of knowledge, but if they do, they could have the ability to assign different colors to people and objects, and skim barcodes and newspaper headlines. It will be awhile before scientists cross that bridge, though — while the researchers estimate the glasses could someday cost £500 ($800), they’re only starting to build prototypes.