Stem cell research, while controversial, has always been touted as the future of disease treatment. There’s more evidence to support that claim, as it turns out that stem cell treatment can help cure blindness. More »
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Lance Corporal Craig Lundberg lost his sight to a rocket-propelled grenade in 2007. Now, thanks to a fascinating technology, he can read words and make out shapes using his tongue. It’s truly incredible. More »
A 73-year-old man was recently given vision again after being outfitted with a “bionic eye.” After 30 years of darkness, he now can see enough to follow white lines on the road and sort socks.
As well as its promisingly sci-fi-sounding name, the Joint Optical Reflective Display is actually designed to help people with vision problems. It’s a head-worn magnifier with autofocus that can provide up to 30x zoom, and is designed to help people with vision loss caused by macular degeneration, glaucoma or other conditions. Plus, its docking station lets you use it as a desktop 50x zoom, illuminated magnifier with digital output—so, it’s not quite up there with Geordi LaForge’s visor, but it’s pretty powerful. No info on pricing, but demonstration models are available from manufacturer Enhanced Vision. [Gizmag via UberGizmo]
Although the SightMate looks like a pair of those video glasses, it actually improves the sight of people with poor eyesight. A two-megapixel camera with 3x zoom sits in the middle of the outer frame and feeds images to a double 640 x 480 display inside the glasses.
The ParaScope Urban Combat Sight is a specialized device that acts like a periscope to allow aiming and firing around obstacles and corners, without having to put your life on the line or firing John McClane-style “Hail Mary” passes. It can be connected to any existing scope, “projecting the target image, with the targeting laser dot, back through it at any angle” and according to the Marines who have tried, it works great. In other words: peeping toms of the world, this thing is a must.[Defense Tech] More »
Sebastian Ritzler, a design student in Germany, has created a feature-laden rolling white cane called the Mygo that will make the blind scoff at us eyesies. The Mygo uses a sensor-camera combo to measure the ground below it and give the user real time feedback via a wireless headset. The cane also ends in a small wheel that uses a steering engine that helps the user steer by providing feedback through the grip.
The Mygo is height-adjustable, tough, and waterproof — in case you’re a blind swimmer — and runs on a lithium-ion battery that will keep it going for around 6 hours. It has yet to go into production but Ritzler is aiming to make it an affordable innovation, something in the $200 range, which, if it works as advertised, is a damn good deal. [BusinessWeek via Wired] More »
The boffins at Ishikawa-Namiki Komuro Laboratory are working on a device that will allow “optical-hair modules” to provide spatial information via haptic cues. The modules will be able to process information and then pass this onto “vibro-tactile” units, which would be placed directly on the skins surface.
Essentially, this means a suit containing the sensors could be worn as a secondary skin, this would then relay feedback signals to the (real) skin’s surface when an obstruction is detected. The scientists claim that the device they are developing will have much in common with similar biological structures such as cellular cilia, insect antennae and sensory mammalian whiskers.
The technology hopes to be implemented to aid those with visual impairment, as well as those who work in potentially hazardous environments. Finally, we shall have the superhero senses we have dreamed of/earned by blogging rights. [Ishikawa-Namiki Komuro via Techdigest] More »
This CueSight gives you a laser sight from your cue to the ball that helps your aim. This one’s actually better than the previous one because it offers a cross instead of a spot, and will actually give you another sight down the table if you line it up correctly. See annoying animated gif for an infinitely repeating demo.
The cue’s actually a great idea to get beginners into the action quicker, since it’s no fun to lose all the time no matter what game you’re playing. Which is why we stopped playing Gears of War with Travis. – Jason Chen
Product Page [CueSight via Coolest Gadgets] More »
