Camera-equipped and AI-powered Envision Glasses can capture images of text and convert them to audio, recognize familiar faces, and help users navigate inside and out.
It might be reading a sign at a train station, a printed document, or the text on the back of a tea bag. In social settings, they may be useful for recognizing familiar faces. In a new place, a person can describe their surroundings aloud.
Smart glasses built by AI-assisted technology companies, no matter the scenario foresee Designed to help blind and visually impaired users better process text and embrace all content, says Katic Cannan, co-founder of Envision.
Vision glasses Equipped with an 8-megapixel camera – capable of capturing images at approximately 8 megapixels per inch – the field of view is wide and no detail is lost. The glasses feature WiFi and Bluetooth to stay connected, around 5 to 6 hours of battery life, and built-in speakers with USB audio (as well as Bluetooth audio). Even with all the hardware, they’re lightweight at less than 2 ounces — and the company has been busy adding more features.
Earlier this month, Envision, With offices in The Hague, Netherlands and Anaheim, California, Introduced new features for its smart glasses. Those ones Includes more powerful Optical Character Recognition (OCR), improved text reading and the addition of new languages. Vision adds Hindi, Japanese, Chinese and Korean, which can be accurately captured and read offline through smart glasses.This brings the total number of languages supported offline to 26 and more than 60, according to the company.
Envision Glasses is a tool that helps visually impaired people access the visual world around them, Kannan said during a Zoom call demonstrating the smart glasses.
No matter what’s in front of the user, “whether it’s text, the faces of friends and family, or objects — it takes visual information and then converts it into audio,” he said.
To demonstrate, Kannan holds a document showing how glasses lock onto images and process text in context, identifying parameters and subtitles. This is done, for example, so that people can scan a document and then peruse specific sections.
The glasses instruct Kannan on how to position the document so that it can be captured in the field of view and read aloud. When he intentionally moves the document out of the frame, he gets instructions (such as moving the document up or down) to help him move it back into view. Whether reading a newspaper article arranged by column, a road sign or a restaurant menu, Envision Glasses deciphers the layout to make it easier for users to read, according to the company.
Envision Glasses are currently available with Google Glass Enterprise Edition 2, and the upgrade provides users with easier access to professional services such as indoor and outdoor navigation. The smartglasses company is now also allowing developers to build on its platform to provide users with additional functionality. For example, by adding the Cash Reader app, Envision can now recognize banknotes in more than 100 currencies.
The company is also looking to make the newly updated glasses more accessible to the 2 billion people worldwide who are blind or visually impaired. This includes finding ways to get glasses, which are reimbursed for $3,500 spent through the companion Envision app.
“In the U.S., we work with state agencies and rehab centers to fully or partially reimburse the cost of eyeglasses,” Kannan said. “We’re also working with dealers across the U.S. in the best way to help customers get this technology at an affordable price. “
Other companies also offer smart glasses for the visually impaired. a major competitor, OrCam MyEye 2, According to the company, it’s a smart, tiny wearable device that can read text aloud to people who are visually impaired or legally blind.
But no matter who wins the market, or whether it’s good enough to support multiple players, one thing’s for sure: There are some technological options that can help people with limited vision live independently.
Envision Glasses can do just that, Kanan said, and ensure that people who are blind or visually impaired don’t have to constantly rely on others for support with everyday tasks.
“Users around the world use them to read letters, books (and) office documents in over 60 different languages,” he said. “They use it to recognize the faces of friends and family, and even make video calls through the glasses.”
