New technology could open a new era of independence for blind and visually impaired residents of communities everywhere.
A post on Urbanful by Njaimeh lists nine technology advancements that are providing new ways for the visually impaired to navigate the city. The nine innovations fall into three categories: wearable tech, apps, and hybrids, but each of them offer new levels of independence for the visually impaired. A few examples:
- Smart glasses: For people with some vision remaining, this technology uses "connected cameras, a compass, GPS unit, gyroscope, headphones, and displays, the glasses can display varying lightness and darkness to indicate depth, and can also be made to recognize signs and transit numbers." Such technology is being developed in Oxford and Mexico.
- Blind Square: the most popular app for the blind and visually impaired, Blind Square "works with third-party navigation apps to describe the environment, announce points of interest, and let users know when they’ve reached an intersection."
FULL STORY: 9 advances helping visually-impaired people navigate cities
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