Virtual vision
Electronic glasses for the visually impaired have been developed
ABC magazine based on the materials of Universidad Carlos III de Madrid:
Researchers have created glasses that indicate obstacles to patients with visual handicapsResearchers from the Charles III University in Madrid have created special glasses designed for people with various visual pathologies – glaucoma, retinal pathology, etc.
According to the inventors, these glasses will be able to improve the vision of these people so much that they will be able to avoid collisions with obstacles.
The prototype of the new glasses was a device called HMD (literally, a monitor mounted on the head) – a kind of helmet or helmet for traveling through virtual reality.
The researchers reduced it to the size of standard sunglasses. The device has 2 built-in video cameras connected to a small computer that processes all the images coming from the cameras. Further, thanks to the algorithm created by scientists, the computer recognizes the outline of surrounding objects, estimates the distance to them and reports this information to a person in real time using two small screens in front of his eyes. The outline of an approaching obstacle appears on the screen, and as you approach it, its color changes.
According to the author of the device, Professor Ricardo Vergaz, such glasses will provide a visually impaired person with almost full-fledged fields of vision that a healthy person has. Currently, these glasses are undergoing clinical trials together with the Institute of Applied Ophthalmology (Instituto de Oftalmología Aplicada), which will last until the end of this year, after which the device will have to pass certification.
Professor Vergaz's team is also currently working on another ophthalmic device – a virtual magnifying glass. "The main idea of this device is a specially developed algorithm that will allow a visually impaired person to lose their way less often while reading a text," explains the professor. – Unlike a conventional magnifying glass, a person has the opportunity to change the degree of magnification and the size of the field of view, which will also be controlled by a computer. This device will help to restore the pleasure of reading to people suffering from loss of the central field of vision or age-related macular degeneration. These pathologies do not lead to complete blindness, but significantly complicate the lives of hundreds and thousands of people in Spain alone."
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