This article was taken from the April 2013 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by <span class="s1">subscribing online.
Neuroscientist Stephen Hicks can give sight to people who are almost blind -- those who can see a hand moving in front of their face but can't count fingers. "We have designed a pair of computerised glasses that can make the world clearer for people who are legally blind," says Hicks, 37, who works at the Oculab at Oxford University. Hicks built a prototype of the bionic glasses in 2011 and since then has tested eight iterations. The current one has two cameras, one on each frame, which provide stereo vision and a 90 degree field of view; a transparent OLED screen displays images, like an augmented-reality screen; a gyroscope and accelerometer accommodate head-turning and update the display in real time; and a specialised microprocessor runs live image-processing algorithms. "These algorithms make things right in front of you easier to see: doors, signs and people become big and bright,"
Hicks explains. He says users are able to see a change within five minutes. "Some people could see their own arms and legs, some could identify a person moving four metres away," he says. By April, Hicks plans to have launched a startup called Assisted Vision to manufacture and distribute the glasses to 150,000 people around the country.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
