Challenge
There are 285 million people worldwide who are legally blind. For them, navigating their surroundings is incredibly difficult, as they do not know where or what objects are around them. Current solutions like sonar alerts or canes are not sufficient to help navigation. Seeing for the Blind is a unique technology to help blind people know both where and what objects are around them. With these glasses, the blind can have a comprehensive sense of awareness and will be able to navigate with ease.
Description
Seeing for the Blind uses echolocation to alert users of the distance between themselves and objects around them by using both auditory and tactile feedback. The device also uses machine learning to determine the identity of objects, text, and faces in the user’s surroundings, and reads the names back to the user. This patent-pending combination of knowing both where and what objects around a user are helps the blind have a comprehensive sense of navigation.
Outcomes
Seeing for the Blind has been prototyped and tested in India. Adjustments are being made to finalize the prototype before scaling up production in India. The project has raised $10,700 to date.
