St. Petersburg researchers offer blind people ‘smart’ glasses

The new device does look like sunglasses, the source said. However, it has two cameras built in it to transmit a signal to a special minicomputer, also built-in. The computer receives video data and is said to be able to calculate distances between the user and the nearest objects around. In addition, the system is reportedly capable of ‘drawing’ a 3D map for the area the user walks in, updatable on a real-time basis, and as it does so, it marks objects in different colors. In the process, the owner receives audio warning signals about any obstacle ahead.

The developers believe this entry-level innovation may lay the foundation for a more complex device with wider functionality, for example, capable of giving its user a set of options of how to move away from or bypass an obstacle on the road.