Negrin is one of the first people to test a new computer-assisted vision device, developed by an Israeli startup called OrCam Technologies.
The glasses can interpret nearby visual inputs, including letters, faces, objects, products and places, bus numbers and traffic lights. A wearer simply points to an object in front of them, like a container of soy milk in the fridge or an approaching bus, and the device describes what it sees out loud.
“Getting around used to be so difficult, but now I can easily check the color of the traffic lights,” said Negrin.
OrCam cofounder professor Amnon Shashua is an expert at building technology that can recognize many types of objects, including words on a page. He took a leave of absence from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem to develop the product full-time and recruit workers to bring it to market.
“Helping those with low vision seemed like the most natural first application for such a technology,” said Erez Na’aman, the vice president of engineer and business development at OrCam, in an interview with VentureBeat.
The device sits on a pair of glasses, and it came about in a partnership with Freescale, an Austin, Texas based public company that makes semiconductors and processors. It runs on a high-speed Freescale application processor and employs complex computer vision algorithms.
About 100 people with visual impairments have tested the device so far. Early beta studies have shown that it works most effectively for people who have some degree of vision left, not those who are completely blind.