Tag Archives: glasses

.lumen: A new era of navigation for the visually impaired @ CES 2024

February 1, 2024AI, CES 2024, Healthai, artificial intelligence, ces2024, gadgets, glasses, Health, visually imparedPLUGHITZ Live

.lumen visually impaired guidance Technology has the power to transform the lives of people with disabilities, providing them with greater independence and opportunities. Haptic feedback glasses for the visually impaired are a groundbreaking development designed to uplift the lives of these individuals. Cornel Amariei, the CEO and founder of .lumen, is committed to creating glasses that mimic the primary functions of a guide dog.

Glasses for blind with haptic feedback

One of the major issues facing blind people is the limited availability of guide dogs, with only 28,000 dogs serving the 40 million blind people worldwide. The cost of training a guide dog, which amounts to around $70,000, and the extensive effort required from blind individuals make guide dogs a non-scalable solution. To address this issue, .lumen has developed glasses that utilize self-driving technology and a patented haptic feedback interface.

The .lumen glasses function similarly to a guide dog, pulling the user’s head instead of their hand. The haptic feedback creates the sensation of something holding and pulling the head in the direction the user needs to go, avoiding obstacles and ensuring safety. The company has been testing with over 250 blind individuals internationally and has shown the glasses to be incredibly effective, even surpassing the capabilities of guide dogs.

In terms of functionality, the .lumen glasses can be directed to guide the user to specific locations or provide general guidance. The glasses compute obstacle positions a hundred times per second, ensuring seamless navigation. The haptic feedback on the forehead provides intuitive guidance, allowing blind individuals to navigate their surroundings without the need for a physical guide.

Why haptic feedback instead of audio alerts

The decision to incorporate haptic feedback into the glasses was driven by the desire to provide non-intrusive yet informative feedback. Blind individuals heavily rely on their hearing, so audio feedback was deemed unsuitable. By utilizing haptics, .lumen ensures that the feedback is intuitive and easily understandable. The head was chosen as the feedback location due to its natural inclination to turn and gather information about the surroundings.

Similar to guide dogs, which do not bark when there is an obstacle but rather guide the individual around it, the glasses use haptics to gently steer the user. The glasses are engineered to handle complex outdoor challenges, such as distinguishing between the sidewalk and the road, through extensive AI training and data analysis.

The decision to develop glasses with haptic feedback stemmed from the desire to address the limitations of guide dogs and provide a scalable solution for the millions of blind individuals who cannot have access to a guide dog. Amariei’s passion for improving the lives of blind individuals is evident in his dedication to creating a product that not only replicates the capabilities of guide dogs but also exceeds them in some cases.

The origins of .lumen

Amariei shares his personal experience growing up in a family of people with disabilities and how it inspired them to create technology specifically for this community. He mentions that he comes from Eastern Europe, specifically Transylvania, where he witnessed firsthand the challenges faced by people with disabilities.

However, he also recognized the potential of technology to address these challenges. Coming from a background in automotive, specifically autonomous driving, he understood the capabilities of technology and saw an opportunity to create something better.

Conclusion: Haptics make for a safer and scalable experience

It is important to note that, in terms of price, it is not intended for the blind individuals themselves to pay for it. Instead, they are exploring reimbursement and subsidy programs, such as those found in Europe, to ensure that the technology is accessible and affordable for those who need it.

In conclusion, the development of glasses for the blind with haptic feedback represents a significant advancement in assistive technology. These glasses have the potential to transform the lives of blind individuals by providing them with a reliable, intuitive, and scalable solution for navigation and obstacle avoidance. With further advancements in technology and increased accessibility, glasses like Lumen’s have the power to empower blind individuals and enable them to live more independent and fulfilling lives.

Interview by Scott Ertz of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology.

Sponsored by:
Get $5 to protect your credit card information online with Privacy.
Amazon Prime gives you more than just free shipping. Get free music, TV shows, movies, videogames and more.
The most flexible tools for podcasting. Get a 30 day free trial of storage and statistics.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS | More

Dusk Sport: Smart sunglasses with adjustable tint @ CES 2023

February 24, 2023CES 2023, Entertainment, Gadgetsbluetooth, ces2023, gadgets, glasses, SpeakerPLUGHITZ Live

Ampere Dusk Sport One of the everyday items that the tech industry has become interested in is glasses. A lot of interesting ideas have come about surrounding glasses, such as adding Bluetooth speakers and headphones to the earpieces, or even guidance for visually impaired people, But, Amonpere has a new way of looking at glasses with their Dusk line of sunglasses.

What are Dusk sunglasses?

Dusk sunglasses are a new take on both the smart glasses concept and the transitional sunglass lens concept, all in a single product line. These glasses don’t use a photochromic lens film to transition from regular glasses to sunglasses. Instead, they use an electric lens film to make the change. This gives a number of interesting and unique benefits.

First, the glasses can be changed manually. This is accomplished either through a button on the frame or through your phone. On the frame, you can press a button and have it cycle through a couple of preset states. This can be regular glasses, full sunglasses, or several steps in between. From your phone, the same thing can be accomplished, but with a higher degree of granularity. You can also set the presets on some models from the app.

Another big difference is the ability to set a darkness level on a whim. Rather than being saddled by the sun and the rules created by the manufacturer, you get to respond to your environment as you please. Do you want to set the lenses to be full sunglasses inside in the dark? You can do it. Are you trying to look at something in detail outside and need clear lenses? You can do that, too.

However, if adjusting manually isn’t what you’re after, you can also activate the company’s InstaOptic feature. While this may sound like standard photochromic lenses, they respond differently. They use light sensors to tell the onboard computer that the light has changed. The user can then decide how to respond to these changes – they can be immediate, like other transition lenses, or they can wait for a period to ensure the change is permantent.

In addition to the lenses, the higher-end devices also integrate Bluetooth audio into the frames. Since you’re already connected to your phone, you might as well use the same devices to listen to music or podcasts while you walk or run.

The new Dusk Sport

The Dusk Sport model is the newest addition to the lineup. These glasses have all of the features of the regular Dusk sunglasses, but in a style that is designed for outdoor activities. It comes in two frame styles – Speed and Action. The lenses also come in a selection of colors, so you can make the glasses your own. These frame styles have become popular even outside of athletes, as they are fashion-forward and interesting looking.

Summary

The Dusk and Dusk Lite glasses are already available. The Dusk is available for $299 and the Dusk Lite is available for $199. The Dusk Sport is available through crowdfunding now with a retail price of $399, but a pre-order price of $279.

Interview by Daniele Mendez of The New Product Launchpad.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS | More

Lighthouse Tech aims to improve safety for visually impaired @ CES 2023

January 28, 2023CES 2023, Gadgets, Healthces2023, gadgets, glasses, safety, visually imparedPLUGHITZ Live

Lighthouse Tech Visual Impaired Smart Glasses Over the past decade, it seems that everything has become smart. From lightbulbs to refrigerators, to even glasses, everything is getting smarter. In some cases, the benefits have been obvious, such as being able to control lightbulbs without having to go to a particular place in the room or having special wiring. However, some items being smart have mostly been gimmicky, like glasses. That is until now – as Lighthouse Tech has a new take on the tech, making it a truly useful addition for many users.

What is Lighthouse Tech?

Lighthouse Tech is a company making smart glasses for a new demographic – those with visual impairment. In general, smart glasses have included pretty pedestrian features, such as Bluetooth speakers or cameras. On the other hand, we’ve seen products like Google Glass, which were both ahead of their time and surprisingly useless.

Lighthouse Tech has thrown out all of those ideas and totally changed directions. These glasses are not intended to make you look techy. Instead, the glasses themselves look entirely like normal glasses. These glasses, however, are designed to help improve the safety of wearers with visual impairments by giving alerts and information about hazards that other safety measures generally miss.

In particular, the glasses are intended to find items outside of the range of a walking stick. This includes, but is not limited to, low hanging tree branches, street signs, store signs, and more. Specifically, the glasses look for things that are hanging or physically separated from the base to which they are attached.

How does it work?

The Lighthouse Tech glasses are designed to protect the safety of their wearer. This is done using front-facing sensors. These sensors are able to detect obstacles within the path of the wearer, as well as the distance between the glasses and the obstacle.

The glasses are able to provide feedback to the wearer through vibration. This is an important detail because, if the glasses are to be used on the sidewalk on a bust street, audible feedback, including beeps and speech, would be difficult to hear. In addition, audible feedback would make the glasses more obvious for their intention, possibly making the wearer more self-conscious about wearing them. The design of the glasses, which are traditional and low profile, are intended to go the other way. Thus, audible feedback would undermine the concept.

To improve feedback, the company also offers a small, connected bracelet. This allows the wearer to move the feedback from the temples to the wrist. For many, the wrist is a more sensitive area of the body and can help improve the awareness of the safety alerts.

Summary

The Lighthouse Tech glasses are currently in active development. The company is searching for beta testers to give the tech a try and give feedback. Once beta testing has completed, the company will finalize the device and bring it to market. To learn more about the company and the product, or to sign up to be a beta tester, head over to the company’s website.

Interview by Marlo Anderson of The Tech Ranch.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS | More

The Vision Council Advances Technology for Healthy Eyes and Eyewear

January 15, 2014CES 2014, Healthblue light, computer screen, eye health, eyewear, glasses, vision councilJamie Davis

The Vision Council is a not for profit that is dedicated to really focusing in on all of the things that we can do to make our lives better through glasses. Maintaining healthy eyes through better designed eyewear is a passion for them. Chris Montera, guest correspondent for the Health Tech Weekly podcast chats with Mike in the Vision Council booth at the International CES show this year and they discuss how people can improve their eye health with the use of new, high-tech coatings for their corrective lenses, prolonging their eyesight.

One of the big things today in eye care is what they call HEV or High Energy Violet light. Studies have shown that there’s a correlation between that and age-related macular degeneration by not blocking that light range out. Many of our computer screens put out a lot of this blue light range and it can cause damage to your eyes if it’s not filtered out by your lenses. Even people who do not use glasses could benefit through the long-term use of an HEV coating on a set of clear, non-corrective lenses to protect their eyes before the deterioration begins.

You can find out more about this and other initiatives from the Vision Council at their website, TheVisionCouncil.org. There you’ll find the latest in eyewear technology and eye health from this trade group representing your local eye care professionals in your communities.

[cessponsor]

Get more segments and coverage from the digital health pavilion at CES 2014 here at the Tech Podcast Network and at the Health Tech Weekly podcast with Jamie Davis, the Podmedic.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS | More

Gunnar Premium 3D Eyewear

January 21, 2011Accessories, CES 20113d eyewear, CES, glasses, gunnarJeffrey Powers

Gunnar was at CES this year showing off their new lines of glasses for gamers, programmers and any other computer user. These glasses help reduce eye strain as you work. Of course, they are also stylish and cool to wear.

However, Gunnar also showed off their new 3D Premium Eyewear line. Glasses that work with different standards of 3D, of course, giving you a stylish look. The lenses are Circular Polarized, RealD™ compatible lenses.

After all, the worst thing that can happen is you getting a pair of 3D glasses from the movie theatre that have been worn before and a ding in the side of the frames makes wearing the glasses uncomfortable.