Blind
-
Manufactured by Austrian startup Tec-Innovation, the InnoMake shoe uses ultrasound sensors to warn blind users of obstacles in their path. The footwear may soon become even more capable, though, thanks to integrated cameras.
-
Autonomous vehicles and robots navigate with sensors and cameras – but visually-impaired people still get by with canes and guide dogs. Now, engineers have developed a wearable AI system that tracks obstacles and describes a person’s surroundings.
-
Spanish researchers have created a new potential treatment for age-related macular degeneration, which is currently untreatable – a biohybrid artificial retina, made of silk and loaded with new human cells that can integrate and repair the damage.
-
In some forms of blindness, certain parts of the eye still work but damage to light-sensitive cells disrupts vision. Now, researchers have used gene therapy to bypass damaged cells and restore partial vision to mice that were completely blind.
-
A technology under development at Loughborough University offers up an interesting new possibility when it comes to mobility aids for the visually impaired, by channeling the functions of a guide dog into a robotic device you can hold in your hand.
-
For people who rely on Braille, reading displays and signs in public can be a challenge, but a new system could help. HaptiRead is a haptic feedback device that uses ultrasound pulses in precise patterns to reproduce Braille text in midair.
-
Although many people like the fact that electric cars don't produce engine noise, this means that blind pedestrians can't hear them coming. Having the cars emit a warning sound is one solution, and a new system could help keep that sound from being any louder than necessary.
-
The Macaron is a clever measuring tape dreamt up by students from the Queensland University of Technology. Described as a universal smart tape measure, it was inspired by one of the team members who is vision impaired and struck some difficulties renovating his house.
-
A cane that gets tapped along the ground is certainly a great help to the visually-impaired, but is there room for improvement? The entrepreneurs at Turkey's Young Guru Academy (YGA) seem to think so, which is why they partnered with electronics company Vestel to create the WeWALK Smart Cane.
-
Taking in stunning views on a road trip can make the hours of travel worth the effort. But if you're a blind passenger, such joys are not available to you. Ford Italia is hoping to change that with a prototype window that allows blind passengers to experience views from a car window using touch.
-
According to ELIA Life Technology, less than one percent of visually-impaired people can read braille. It's quite difficult to master, with users reportedly taking up to 10 months to learn the alphabet. The company's new ELIA Frames system, however, can apparently be learned in just three hours.
-
Sydney's Ben Felten will go for a motorcycle land speed record this weekend in South Australia, aboard a Kawasaki ZX-10R. Since he's completely blind, he'll be taking instructions from an ex-MotoGP rider over a radio. The target? Over 156 miles per hour, or 251 kmh.
Load More