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Wearable tech

An RNIB basic guide to wearable technology for the blind, such as smart glasses and head-mounted cameras for blind and partially sighted people.

Wearable technology comes in different forms. Some wearable devices are built into a visor, some are built into electronic spectacles and some have a clip-on camera that attaches to spectacles or a head strap.

Some of the visor style systems offer a wider field of view to people who have peripheral vision loss but most are not intended to be used while moving around. They are supposed to be taken off when moving and only put on while you are stationary, or while being guided or driven around in a vehicle by someone else. However, they can be used to find information about your surroundings – again, when stationary – to help you to make choices about where to go in a room or outdoor location.

These devices are not intended for use as mobility aids. In the list below only Cyber Eyez offers access to both talking and visual GPS navigation apps through being a full Android device. Even then, GPS is safest when used only with other mobility aids such as canes and guide dogs.

Magnifying devices

These wearable devices are mainly for magnifying text and objects and enhancing remaining useful vision. They can all enhance both distance and near vision. These technologies change all the time and some may introduce speech options in future.

IrisVision Live headset magnifier

This consists of a Samsung VR Gear visor headset and a Samsung smartphone with IrisVision software. It magnifies whatever you look at through the visor, whether distant or near, and the image is shown in front of your eyes. IrisVision has a very wide field of view and for some people this can compensate for peripheral, or patchy, vision loss.

Watch the IrisVision in use on YouTube.

The IrisVision headset magnifier is supplied in the UK by VisionAid Technologies and you can find out more on it on their website.

Price £2,895 (VAT relief available).

VisionAid Technologies also supply eSight, Orcam MyEye and NuEyes (see below) and can demonstrate all its devices to customers at home and at exhibitions.

eSight 4

This is a visor style headset with a very modern design. It’s light, and comfortable to wear for long periods. eSight 4 has 24x zoom and can connect to a TV, computer or a games console.

Watch the eSight in use on YouTube or find out more about it from VisionAid Technologies.

Price: £6,995 (VAT relief available).

SightPlus

SightPlus is a headset that has been designed to enhance the vision of people with severe sight impairments. It combines the capabilities of a near-distance magnifier and long-distance telescope. It will help with stationary daily living activities such as watching TV, reading, following a play and working on screen-displays.

If you have sight conditions such as macular degeneration (AMD), Stargardt's, albinism or diabetic retinopathy and/or if you benefit from magnification tools in general, you could see an impact on your vision with the device.

The UK supplier is GiveVision. If you want to try SightPlus, contact 01216 30 30 63 or sign up here.

Free testing sessions are available in London, Birmingham and with their partners (opticians, charities and low vision aids retailers) in other locations.

Here are links to a couple of videos of SightPlus in use:

Magnification and talking devices

The second type of wearable devices are dual purpose for magnifying and reading text using Optical Character Recognition to provide spoken information.

NuEyes Pro glasses

These look like large, thick rimmed, dark spectacles. They are voice controlled by giving commands to zoom in or zoom out on whatever the user wants to focus on. NuEyes Pro can magnify up to 12 times. It also has OCR and Wi-Fi allowing the user to stream TV and films directly to the glasses.

The UK supplier is VisionAid Technologies.

Watch a demonstration of NuEyes on YouTube.

Price: £5,995 (VAT relief available).

Talking only devices

The final type of wearable technology is purely a talking device and therefore aimed at people with very little or no useful vision.

Orcam 2 

This is a clip on spectacle mounted camera with a compact discreet design. It has a pen drive or lipstick-sized camera unit that attaches to one side of your own spectacles or to dummy spectacles. It is only used standalone and is designed primarily to read printed text aloud and to read labels and barcodes on products. It can also recognise faces once it has learned people's names. Orcam comes in two versions.

Orcam MyEye 2

Cost: £3,500 ex VAT.

Orcam MyReader 2

MyReader is a simpler version with the same hardware and fewer features (mainly text reading).

Cost: £2,700 ex VAT.

Some suppliers are RNIB, VisionAid, Orcam UK, and Sight and Sound

Watch a demonstration of Orcam on YouTube.

Envision glasses

Envision Glasses are a frame mounted camera that is light and comfortable to wear all day. Envision Glasses use AI to scan and read text, provide scene description and facial recognition and can make video calls to share your point of view with another person. They also have a batch scanning function with 3gb of memory so you can scan and read text whenever it is convenient for you.

The UK supplier is Sight and Sound.

Cost: £2,695 ex VAT.

Watch an introduction to Envision Glasses on YouTube.

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