UK scientists devise smart glasses for the vision-impaired

People with serious vision impairments could soon benefit from UK-developed smart glasses technology that is currently being trialled in Oxford.

Designed by University of Oxford researchers, the glasses consist of a frame-mounted video camera, a pocket-sized computer processing unit and software that provides images of nearby objects to the transparent displays in the eyepieces.

This simple image of nearby people and obstacles allows wearers to see important things – such as kerbs, tables and chairs, or groups of people – much more distinctly than before. Though they do not replace lost vision, they can greatly aid spatial awareness.

Intended for people who are registered as blind, they are now being tested in public spaces for the first time.

Dr Stephen Hicks of the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Oxford said: "We eventually want to have a product that will look like a regular pair of glasses and cost no more than a few hundred pounds – about the same as a smartphone."

In the UK, as many as two million people live with visual impairment, with around 365,000 registered as blind or partially sighted.