5 smart health connected objects to support the visually impaired

From glasses fitted with LED screens to smart health connected bracelets to braille watches, a small summary of IOT technologies intended to improve the daily lives of people who are blind or have blindness.

The failure of Google Glass has not overshadowed research in terms of smart health connected glasses

If some question the success of the “old” jewelry from the Mountain View firm, smart health connected glasses have a real future in medical matters. The goal is simple, to change the lives of 285 million people, the estimated number of visually impaired people worldwide.

Or Cam: say out loud what some cannot see

An Israeli company has developed OrCam, smart health connected glasses designed to help blind and partially sighted people by orally describing objects and people in the wearer's environment.

Road sign, restaurant menu, metro station or bus number, the software is able, thanks to a small integrated camera, to analyze most urban signs. For it, the person wearing the glasses need only point to the targeted area. A bone conduction system will do the rest.

The information is then decrypted by software and transmitted to a microphone which will dictate the information to the blind or partially sighted person. All obviously to increase their autonomy.

The manufacturer specifies that the device can also concern people with dyslexia, color blindness or suffering from memory loss.

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At CES 2016, the world's largest innovation fair, the Israeli company presented its MyMe camera, which uses artificial intelligence technology to film with a small camera before transcribe the image into sound via a headset.

e-sight: two screens to illustrate reality

The e-sight technology, developed by Canadian researchers, is aimed at the visually impaired, but unfortunately cannot help the blind.

With a small central camera, these smart health connected glasses film the environment and then send the information to an electronic unit which processes the image as real before projecting it on two LED screens located opposite each eye. A remote control will allow the user to make a whole bunch of adjustments: resolution, brightness, contrast and magnification of the image.

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This technology is based on very complex microprocessors and algorithms capable of processing information in real time. The goal is to avoid too much latency between image recording, analysis and transmission the screens in front of the person's eyes.

Too long a calculation time could indeed cause a gap between the real and the displayed image, causing a feeling of "seasickness in the user". Note also that the device is quite large, it will not be suitable for too much mobility.

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E-sight technology has benefited from incredible promotion thanks to a ehealth posted on Youtube which touched almost 5 million people worldwide. We see Kathy Beitz, a 29-year-old Canadian, practically blind since the age of 11 following a rare genetic patient (Stargardt's disease).

The day she gave birth, and while she is equipped with the device of Israeli society, her sister had the idea of ​​filming her reaction. The young woman, who was able to see her son Aksel a few minutes after his birth, said that it was the first time in her life that she had seen a baby.

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Handisco: the smart health connected cane that wants to change the lives of the visually impaired

After the glasses, it's an essential tool for people with blindness who are experiencing a new youth in the era of IOT. According to the website The Economist, this tool used by the visually impaired to move hasn't changed since 1920, "Date when the canes were painted white to allow other pedestrians to notice them".

This French innovation is the work of five students trained at Esstin, Nancy’s engineering school. Lucie, who is part of this young team, has an uncle with blindness. Wanting to improve her daily life, the idea arose. Naturally.

The interest is to allow this rather classic-looking white cane to communicate with its environment before transmitting information to its wearer. Equipped with ultrasonic and other infrared sensors, it vibrates and gives indications to the person equipped with a Bluetooth headset.

Equipped with a GPS, it is smart health connected to the city's municipal services. All of this, you will understand, allow people with blindness to avoid obstacles to move more easily in urban areas.

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Sunu or the idea of ​​equipping humans with sonar

A Mexican research team has developed Sunu, a smart health connected bracelet created to help visually impaired or blind people to get around on a daily basis.

The principle is based on a technology identical to that of sonar or, for the followers of the big blue, of the dolphin. The bracelet sends waves that bounce off objects. Once the signal has returned to the device, the latter warns the wearer of an imminent obstacle.

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DOT, a braille watch and dial

At a time when the watchword is entirely tactile – from the phone to tablets to smart health connected watches – it is an understatement to say that the visually impaired are not taken into account in this technological impetus.

A Korean company invented a smart health connected watch that can read the time, web pages or its messages throughBraille display. Bluetooth smart health connected to a smartphone, the dial of the bracelet consists of a module with 6 active cells each comprising 6 points. This device makes it possible to display characters in Braille at a speed of 1 to 100 Hz.

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