EYE 21 device helps the blind to move independently

According to a statement, EYE 21 is an electronic tool that allows blind people to move autonomously in any environment. The blind, thanks to a pair of sunglasses equipped with two micro cameras and headphones, are able to perceive an acoustic image of the space at which they are pointing.

This tool has been developed as a continuation of the European Casblip (Cognitive Aid System for Blind People) project.

In its first version, the system recognises shapes and replaces them with sounds positioned on the surface of the recognised forms.

The two micro cameras analyse space, create a three-dimensional model of it and associate sound points to points on the surface that is being analysed. In this way, a blind person can reportedly ‘hear’ space and their brain reconstructs its shape from that spatialised sound.

‘We all have a natural ability to talk at the same time as we detect the position of a coin that has just hit the ground. This ability to represent space with sounds without disturbing other activities of the brain is the basis of how this system works,’ said project co-ordinator Guillermo Peris Fajarnés. ‘Combining object-recognition technology with sound representation of space allows a blind person to recreate those sounds and perceive their original shape.’