SMART GLASSES                                                                                                                                                                                                   1

Abstract

The goal of the project is to create electronic device that will help to people with visual disabilities to conduct daily routines. Most blind people need help from someone’s daily. They very depend on someone’s help. We are trying to create a device that will reduce need of helper presence with blind person.

According to National Federation of the Blind, the number of people aged between 16 and 75 years old with visual disabilities was almost 7.3 million in the United States in 2015. That number emphasize the importance of a problem. Many of blind people use Briales code to read and cane to navigate.

Many new devices for blind people help them to live more comfortably. For example, OrCam glasses is very advanced device to support blind people. It can read from objects by pointing finger on a text, it can recognize faces, products and identify colors. There are definitely many approaches to create navigation system for blind people. For example, Hsueh-Cheng Wang proposed design of a system that can assists with local navigation for blind and visually impaired people by providing generic feedback on obstacles and descriptions of identified useful objects, using camera and headphones. Another example is InMoBS project. InMoBS project proposed upgraded infrastructure in city that will communicate with cell phones, for example signals would be able to communicate with cell phone informing blind person about traffic light. However, we believe that there is always opportunity to create devices that may suite need better.

The device we want to create is called “Personal assistant glasses”. Personal assistant glasses is the device that can help to blind people to navigate with artificial intelligence and personal assist. In order to operate glasses will connect to cell phone with wifi, than program installed to cell phone will operate in two ways. First way is “AI mode” (artificial intelligence). Second way is “PA mode” (personal assist). For PA mode blind person would be able to make a video call to relative. On other side person accepted video call with computer or cell phone assist to blind person. Blind person may ask what relative sees and use this information. In case relatives is not available at that moment, blind person may call to freelancer that would be picked by app based on city knowledge, language and other factors. In order to operate AI mode, camera will make high resolution pictures with a grid and look for pattern, for instance look for street sign, building number, price, obstacle, etc. First generation of glasses will heavily depend on PA mode, while collecting data and funds to create advanced artificial intelligence that not limited to catch only well visible patterns.