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New technologies could soon make life easier for visually impaired people. Many researchers around the world are overflowing with projects to enable them to gain mobility and autonomy.
Many startups are working on solutions to make life easier for visually impaired people. Among the rare products already available on the market, there is Rango, developed by the Lyon startup GoSense. This is a connected module that makes white rods smarter. Users can indeed hope to move around in complete safety, this accessory being able to detect the slightest obstacle nearby, including those at height, usually undetectable by a simple white cane.
For its part, the Californian startup Mojo Vision is working on a very ambitious new concept of contact lenses, equipped with a screen and a chip capable of transcribing images in augmented reality. Still at the prototype stage, it could eventually help visually impaired people better understand their environment.
Because in laboratories, researchers are not idle to help the blind. Engineers from Google Research, in partnership with a guide dog training school, have thus developed a very original technology, which consists of walking (or running) along a route defined by a yellow line painted on the ground. . The camera analyzes the deviations of the user and alerts him through small sounds emitted in headphones, which allows him to immediately correct his trajectory.
At Intel, researchers have developed a fairly complex system that fits in a backpack and a banana. The enclosed equipment is responsible for analyzing the environment around the person carrying the bag in real time and telling them, via voice assistance, how to move and if there are obstacles in front of them. The idea is that a visually impaired person, or even completely blind, can one day walk alone in the street and thus considerably gain in autonomy.
Along the same lines, researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed a sophisticated system consisting of a 3D camera, worn like glasses, and a handle with haptic feedback that tells the user the presence of nearby obstacles by vibrations.
At the University of Berkeley, California, a fully autonomous robot is under development, capable of replacing the best guide dog for the blind. Also kept on a leash, it is supposed to be able to help visually impaired people move around in narrow or congested spaces, thanks to a laser ranging system.
The smartphone can also be a very useful tool for the visually impaired. Apple has developed many solutions adapted to people with disabilities. Among these tools is a feature to analyze a door (swing, sliding, concertina, emergency, etc.) and instantly indicate how to open it.
Finally, there are simple initiatives that make life easier. This is the case in New York, where the municipality will soon install nearly 10,000 sound signaling devices for blind and visually impaired pedestrians.