Students at Dutch university develop glasses for the blind
By Victoria Séveno
A group of students from the university in Delft have developed something truly revolutionary: a pair of glasses that allows blind and partially sighted people to better understand and interact with the world around them.
TU Delft students develop glasses for the blind and partially sighted
The high-tech glasses - invented by the Dutch startup Envision by students from TU Delft - are based on smart Google Glass technology, and allow the visually impaired to lead more independent lives.
The glasses have a number of features that allow the user to access visual information through the use of small cameras in the lenses. These take photos of text which can then be translated into speech. This means the wearer can read menus or recognise the value of a euro note without requiring any assistance from others.
Stevie Wonder tests Dutch invention in LA
The glasses were recently tested by the successful American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder when he came across Envision at a tech fair in Los Angeles.
Anyone looking to purchase a pair will currently have to fork out around 3.200 euros, although the brains behind the glasses note that some customers were reimbursed by their health insurance, as the Envision glasses are recognised as a medical device.
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Victoria grew up in Amsterdam, before moving to the UK to study English and Related Literature at the University of York and completing her NCTJ course at the Press Association in London. She has a love for all things movies, animals, and food. Read more