Kuvaus
https://www.pro.sensotec.com/mobility-solutions/niira
Features
• Smartglasses convert visual information into sound
• Enhance mobility and interaction with the environment
Functions
• Perception of obstacles in the air. Branches: Canopies or raised elements are detected up to five meters in advance.
• Users can move without bumping into objects because the sound waves of NIIRA tell them exactly where they are. This makes it easier to walk on the street or locate objects in a 3-dimensional space.
• Bone conduction audio
The Niira Glasses are innovative glasses with built-in cameras and lasers that take a picture 60 times per second in 2 million pixels. Each pixel is then converted into sound, resulting in a 3D sound environment. This allows users to ‘see’ objects, recognising basic shapes such as cubes (e.g. a cupboard) and cylinders (e.g. a glass). The sound becomes louder or quieter as you move closer or further away. With enough practice, you can learn to recognise objects based on their shape and volume by just listening to the sound.
Research shows that it is possible to learn to ‘see’ with your ears in about two weeks, with one to two hours of practice per day. At first, the audio information can be experienced as disruptive (noise), but over time it is processed by the visual cortex in the brain, making it less tiring. Learning the correct techniques should be supervised by a mobility trainer.
The glasses also work well in the dark and help blind people, for example, to follow a wall. The headphones with bone conduction keep the ambient noise audible and the sound of the glasses is experienced as less disturbing. The volume is also adjustable. The battery has an autonomy of 11 hours, but this means that the glasses are equipped with a larger battery.
In the future, they want to add AI, so that the glasses can describe not only shapes but also the environment.
