Tag Archives: Massachusetts Eye and Ear and the Schepens Eye Research Institute

The Road Ahead Could Get Bumpy 

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My stunning Guatemalan girlfriend Ana pictured here with her handsome husband Tony, still have their good looks despite recent injuries. We can’t be too careful in our active lives.

 

Image from Engadget.  A camera using auditory alerts. 

In the last three weeks, I have heard four horror stories of contemporaries getting hurt in their own homes. A slip on an area rug (a broken nose), a fall from a ladder, (broken hip), a bump on a shower handle (a black eye) and a cut on a piece of glass (multiple stitches on several fingers). Ouch“

I’m not saying accidents don’t happen to younger relatives and friends as well but an increasing number of 60-plus year old pals are feeling much more vulnerable these days. It may be all the stories we are exposed to on Facebook. 

Nevertheless, I wanted to tell you about a pocket camera being worked on by scientists from Massachusetts Eye and Ear and the Schepens Eye Research Institute. I first read about it on the tech site Engadget.  They are hoping it might be a giant step forward for the visually impaired. 


Granted, this development may not help us in the home, but it should be of great assistance when we are walking outside. The camera uses auditory alerts to warn us when an obstacle approaches. 

As years go by, many of us will lose more of our peripheral vision. That means we will be more prone to bump into things. The scientists say the camera will have “proximity sensors so it will warn us with a quick alarm so we don’t bump into objects. The current warning systems have a constant annoying beep which sounds off if you are standing next to a structure. This camera is said to be much more user friendly. 

I will let you know when the product becomes available.