sight – Techdirt (original) (raw)
Stories filed under: "sight"
DailyDirt: Augmented Vision
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
Augmented reality glasses are all the rage these days, because it’s just not good enough to see the world through only our human eyes. We want enhanced vision, web connectivity, and complete access to our mobile lives with a blink of an eye. It’s therefore no surprise that there are plenty of efforts out there to develop all kinds of AR glasses. Here are just a few examples.
- Have you been wondering what’s inside Google Glass? A teardown of Google’s AR glasses revealed: a proximity sensor, an ambient light sensor, a touchpad module, a TI OMAP4430 processor chip, 16GB of SanDisk flash, an Elpida mobile DRAM chip, a 2.1-Wh single-cell lithium polymer battery, a bone conduction speaker, a display with a native resolution of 640×360, a camera, an inertial sensor, a prism and other optical components. [url]
- Japanese researchers are developing AR glasses that can restore depth perception to people who are “binocularly challenged.” They modified a pair of Vuzix Wrap 920AR 3-D glasses so that it would generate the impression of depth in the wearer’s “good” eye via special software. [url]
- Korean researchers have created an electronic contact lens by mounting a light-emitting diode onto an off-the-shelf soft contact lens. Their ultimate goal is to develop contact lenses that have all the functions of a wearable computer like Google Glass, but still remain transparent and flexible. [url]
If you’d like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.
Filed Under: 3d glasses, augmented reality, binocular, contact lens, depth perception, eyewear, glasses, sight, vision, wearable computer
Companies: google
DailyDirt: That The Blind May See
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
Most of us take vision for granted, but about 21.5 million adult Americans have trouble seeing, even with glasses or other vision aids. The leading causes of blindness or low vision in the US are age-related eye diseases, and many of the treatments are in fairly early stages of research and development. It’s not easy to replicate the functions of a retina, but here are just a few projects that are working on ways to restore vision with some interesting technologies.
- Retrosense Therapeutics is working on a gene therapy that will allow ganglion cells (instead of rod and cone cells) to respond to light and send visual information to the brain. Patients with retinitis pigmentosa often have plenty of healthy ganglion cells, but they can’t see because their natural photoreceptors aren’t functioning. This therapy has restored some vision-based behaviors in rodents, and clinical trials could start in 2013. [url]
- Electronic devices to replace natural retinas are being developed by about 20 research groups around the world. The Centre for Ophthalmology, Tuebingen, Germany has transferred some of its research to a company (Retina Implant AG) for clinical testing of a subretinal chip. [url]
- Australian researchers have developed a prototype bionic eye and implanted it in a 54-year-old woman. The Bionics Institute in East Melbourne is studying how her brain reacts to the signals from this implant, and so far, Dianne Ashworth can now see some flashes of light. [url]
If you’d like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.
Filed Under: bionics institute, blind, eye, ganglion, implant, low vision, photoreceptors, retina, retinitis pigmentosa, sight
Companies: retina implant, retrosense therapeutics
DailyDirt: Visions Of The Future
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
Digital cameras are getting better all the time, but our natural vision only seems to degrade over time. (Almost everyone over forty years old will suffer from some kind of presbyopia.) There may be technological solutions to improving human vision, but so far, projects like Google Glass are more about augmenting vision, not necessarily improving a user’s sight. Here are just a few interesting projects working on useful eye prosthetic devices.
- Paul Bach-y-Rita is a neuroscientist working on brain plasticity, studying how various senses can be re-mapped in the brain. People with vision problems might be able to learn how to see via tongue sensations. The brain might be able to process visual information in many different ways. [url]
- A retinal implant that could allow the completely blind to perceive light and shapes is in early trials — in rats. There are several kinds of retinal implants that could potentially help people with degenerative retinal diseases, but the technology is still primitive compared to natural vision. [url]
- Sheila Nirenberg’s TED talk on eye prosthetics describes how technology could be used to help the blind see again. Nirenberg’s strategy to create software that can translate signals (from images) into input that the brain can understand could also be useful for other senses like hearing. [url]
- Steve Mann has been wearing a camera attached to his head for quite some time now — as an exploration of wearable computing. Recently, though, he was assaulted for wearing a digital camera, and he’s blogged about his experience trying to live in a society that may not be ready for people wearing personal computer vision systems. [url]
If you’d like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.
Filed Under: blind, brain plasticity, eye, low vision, presbyopia, prosthetics, retinal implants, senses, sight, steve mann, vision, visually impaired