There are a lot of solutions created to help the blind “see” and the latest comes in the form of a wearable camera developed by scientists from Massachusetts Eye and Ear, along with Schepens Eye Research Institute. The camera is rather straightforward and can be worn on the body.
In fact it actually can sit inside the wearer’s shirt pocket so as to be discreet and so as to prevent it from falling out. The idea here is to help those who are blind or visually impaired from bumping into objects, but interestingly enough instead of relying on a proximity sensor which alerts the wearer if they’re standing next to an obstacle, the camera will rely on time-to-collision predictions.
What does this mean? Basically the camera will only alert the wearer of an obstacle if it detects that they might actually run into it. So just because you walk past a pillar doesn’t mean that you will walk into it and the camera will then remain silent. The scientists tried out the camera and according to their initial tests, it was found that collision avoidance was increased by as much as 37% amongst those suffering from tunnel vision. If you’d like to see the camera in action, check it out in the videos above and below.
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