Ask HN: Who is working on AI-powered glasses for the visually impaired?
I've been thinking about the potential for AI, particularly with wearables, to assist the visually impaired. It's one of those applications that feels transformative, moving beyond simple accessibility features to providing genuine environmental awareness.
Instead of just one-off examples, consider the range of daily challenges that could be solved:
- At Home: The ability to simply ask, "Where did I leave my keys?" and get a response like, "They're on the kitchen counter, next to the coffee maker."
- Urban Navigation: Navigating a city and being warned in real-time: "The sidewalk ahead is closed for construction. The safest alternative is to use the crosswalk 50 feet ahead to your left to cross the street."
- Dynamic Environments: Decoding a chaotic, busy street: "You're approaching the curb. The pedestrian signal is still red. A bicyclist is approaching quickly from your right."
This is far beyond simple object detection (person, car, tree). It requires genuine, real-time spatial and situational understanding—a true co-pilot for navigating the physical world.
Who is working on this?
-- Here is a video that motivated me and had me thinking of ideas to help those who could benefit from it.
https://youtube.com/shorts/mu5RK1wpPt4?si=B1UO-VmXIy1fLsdp
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