Latest news with #LeileiGu
Euronews
24-04-2025
- Science
- Euronews
These smartglasses use AI to help blind people navigate without dogs or canes. This is how they work
ADVERTISEMENT Scientists have developed glasses that give real-time instructions to help blind people navigate without assistance dogs, canes or other humans. Researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China have mounted a tiny computer with AI software on Google's smart glasses prototype that was discontinued in 2023. The AI algorithms allow the glasses to survey the environment and send signals as the user approaches an obstacle or object. Related This app uses AR, '3D sound' and a camera to guide blind people around big cities "The camera can capture the image, the information in front. This image information can then be sent to a small computer,' Leilei Gu, a researcher at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, said. 'For example, an image of a chair tells me where the chair is, then I move to the chair, I make one step, then actually the information changes because my position has changed,' he said, adding that it also updates new information about where the chair is so that step by step the user can approach the target safety. The attached computer is as small as a credit card, allowing the user to roam around without the technology being too obtrusive. The researchers also developed 'synthetic skin', a material with built-in sensors that alert when objects are nearby. When a user comes close to an obstacle, a prompt is sent through bone conduction, a way of transmitting sound to the inner ear by sending vibrations through the bones of the skull. Related The new smart glasses and AI watches that will make Meta, Google and Apple think twice Unlike air conduction, which goes through the air via the eardrums, this tech allows the listener to hear even if the ear canal is blocked. The stretchable synthetic skin is 0.1 to 0.2 mm thick using a polymer called PDMS, but it's not connected to the AI software. "We only need to know on the side whether there's an obstacle or not, we don't care about whether it's connected or not, it's just to make sure it's safe," Gu explained. Some 18 people in China have taken part in a study. 'Massive step forward' In Europe, an estimated number of over 30 million people are partially sighted or blind, according to the European Blind Union. An average of 1 in 30 Europeans experiences sight loss. The developers say current devices are a barrier to blind people using them, and they wanted to create a system where the user is indistinguishable from fully sighted people. The existing options are costly, with the costs of training a guide dog up to €60,000 according to insiders in the wearable medical device industry. ADVERTISEMENT Related CES 2024: Glasses for the hard of hearing, the blind, and the first in-ear computer stun tech fair 'Many visually impaired people want to remain as independent as possible,' said Chris Lewis, an independent telecoms and accessibility analyst. 'Ultimately, the ability of a camera mounted on glasses to feed information to you, via both your ears and by haptic feedback, is just a massive step forward," Lewis added. He says the array of different devices using AI means the cost is becoming less prohibitive and they're being adapted for a larger market, including people with disabilities. The research team behind the AI glasses hope that in the future, they can develop a smaller camera that can even be put on contact lenses. ADVERTISEMENT For more on this story, watch the video in the media player above.
Yahoo
20-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
"This system can partially replace the eyes" –these AI camera glasses help blind people get around
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Finally, news that sounds like a fantastic way to use AI technology for good! In tests, an innovative AI camera mounted on glasses could improve actions of visually impaired people by 25%. The wearable device offers helpful audio alerts to provide location information and uses vibrations to convey how far away objects are, reports Nature. "This system can partially replace the eyes," says study co-author Leilei Gu, an AI researcher at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China. The AI device was tested by a group of 20 people with visual impairments, resulting in improved walking distance and navigation time by 25% compared to those using a white cane, as stated in a paper published in Nature Machine Intelligence. The prototype looks like a trendy pair of sunglasses, with the camera positioned at the upper center of the frame. "The system features a pair of glasses equipped with a camera that captures live images of the wearer's surroundings," explains Nature. "A tiny computer processes these images using machine-learning algorithms trained to detect the presence of other people and objects such as doors, walls and furniture. "The device gives the user audio cues about their surroundings every 250 milliseconds, producing a beep in either the right or left earphone to guide them in the right direction." For further navigational assistance, the vibration function, performed through 'artificial skin' patches, worn on wrists and fingers, vibrates when obstacles are in sight. Developers are currently working on making the glasses lighter and more discreet for everyday use, in the hope that this device can replace a white cane. "This paper is about how to make a very, very intelligent stick," says Botond Roska, director of the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel in Switzerland. But he adds that it is "too early to say" to what extent people will actually adopt the technology. Canon's World Unseen exhibition offered a fascinating insight into how people with visual impairment see the world. Other cameras designed for the visually impaired include the Sony HX99 RNV kit and the Raspberry Pi-powered blind camera.
