New Assistive Technologies for Blind People: Between Vision and Reality

Geordi La Forge in Star Trek leads the way: He is blind from birth, but thanks to his visor he is anything but restricted. Does technology help the blind? Yes, even though today we are still far from detecting electromagnetic radiation or technical anomalies with a futuristic ski-goggle, one can safely state that the technological achievements of the past decades have offered blind people like me countless possibilities to live more independently.

The talking kitchen scale helps with baking, the color-detection device assists in choosing the right clothes, and speech output and Braille displays on a PC or smartphone open not only the worlds of the Internet but entire fields of work that were previously inaccessible.

Promising technologies for the blind can be tried out each year in Berlin at the Assistive Technology Exhibition of the General Association of the Blind and Visually Impaired. Time for me to perform a practical check. The company Reinecker Vision lends me a few highlights from the exhibition so that I can take them into everyday life.

The White Cane 2.0

First I test the “Smartcane WeWalk.” What looks like a commercially available long cane can do much more than merely swing along the ground. The manufacturer promises extensive navigation and electronic obstacle detection in the chest and head area. I connect the WeWalk via Bluetooth to my smartphone and receive, at the push of a button on the cane handle, all relevant information about route planning. The accompanying app is easy to use. So, let’s go!

My destination is the next pharmacy. A left turn into Jagowstraße is announced by the cane’s voice. I follow the instructions and soon stand in front of the pharmacy. This navigation could also have been handled by my smartphone. But it is quite practical that the smartphone can stay in my pocket because the operation is done via the cane handle. I thus always have one hand free to push the door handle or carry the shopping bag.

Next challenge: I ask the app how to get from this pharmacy in the Moabit district of West Berlin to my office at Jannowitzbrücke in the eastern part of Mitte. The voice in the cane offers me various public transport connections, and, once I have chosen one, the pedestrian navigation to the S-Bahn station or from the S-Bahn station to the office is provided. All of this is compactly contained in one cane, because on my smartphone I would have to open two different apps for the same result. Thanks to the integrated AI assistant, I can also easily get information about the best cafés or sights nearby and navigate directly there.

As a future-oriented feature, the WeWalk offers ultrasonic obstacle detection in the chest and head area. That promises a revolution in cane use, because obstacles above the waist—signs, awnings, branches—cannot be detected with a conventional long cane. The cane can warn of these accident-prone obstacles at a distance if desired. It then vibrates or beeps like a parking sensor.

However, I notice that it becomes more reliable the more upright I hold it in front of my body. But that does not correspond to the rather flat pendulum motion of a conventional long cane. The WeWalk is also heavier than a normal long cane. Probably after diligent swinging I would have developed a tenosynovitis after at most a day. Great idea, but technically still improvable.

The Navi Belt

Always following the vibrations is the motto of the “FeelSpace” navigation belt. Sixteen vibration modules in an eight-centimeter-wide waist belt indicate the direction – or the route deviation. I enter my girlfriend’s address into the related app on the smartphone.

Vibration centered in front of the belly and I’m on course. Vibration on the left side of the belt – I turn left. The advantage over commercial navigation: One hand and the ears can stay free. Of course I still need the long cane for obstacle detection.

I am especially impressed by the line-of-sight mode, which lets me cross large plazas or confusing intersections in a straight path. Spectacular for blind people, because walking straight ahead without sight is basically impossible.

Isn’t the constant vibration around the waist annoying? Although I had suspected this in advance, I quickly get used to it and can respond to it intuitively. A real navigation support alongside the cane and a guide dog is the belt – especially, but not only – for deaf-blind people.

The Electronic Glasses

Great hopes rested on the new electronic glasses for the blind. In the assistive devices exhibition, the OrCam glasses and the Envision Glasses are offered. I take the OrCam home.

With the OrCam, a small camera module is clipped onto a conventional spectacle frame. At the push of a button on the device or simply by a finger gesture, a photo is taken, which is then analyzed according to the desired function. Read text aloud, recognize colors, banknotes or barcodes – that is only part of the features promised by the manufacturer. So OrCam on the nose and off to my favorite Italian restaurant.

I point at the menu with my finger. A flash and a shutter sound later, OrCam reads out the pizzas: “Pizza Margherita 12.90.” I have to mentally add the euros, but otherwise it worked wonderfully, even with the text arranged in columns. If I now point to the tablecloth, I learn that it is white, and when paying I immediately get information about the bill in my hand.

For me, pressing the button on the device is clearly easier than the gestures the camera responds to. I probably need to practice a bit more – and in general it is difficult for a blind person to precisely point at what one wants to analyze.

Yet the OrCam also talks back: When I say “Hey, OrCam, what is in front of me?” the device responds in a somewhat monotone way: “A chair. A table.” Beyond this simple object recognition, the OrCam cannot provide a full image or scene description. But in the realm of text processing, the included AI delivers: if I ask the OrCam for “intelligent reading,” it extracts a phone number from a flyer text or the amount due from my bill. Connected to Wi-Fi, it can even summarize entire documents for me.

Here in the restaurant I have one last test on the agenda. The OrCam can also recognize people. I have already saved my daughter’s face at home. Now her name rings in my ear again as soon as she appears in front of me. Great, but also a bit annoying when you are constantly reminded of your companion’s presence …

So, should I go ahead and get assistive devices and head into the future? I proceed with caution: I already navigate quite well – with my smartphone and the integrated VoiceOver. The free Seeing AI app reads my letters aloud, and functionally it comes very close to the capabilities of the glasses. But with the all-knowing glasses on my nose, it is much more comfortable to rummage through the freezer or to recognize faces than with the smartphone forever in my hand.

Yet there is now a market solution for that as well: Smart glasses like the Meta Glasses also serve as blind-assist devices, especially regarding AI-powered features such as environment descriptions. Phone calls and listening to audiobooks are included here for free.

In addition, products bought on the open market are much cheaper than official assistive devices. The white cane costs around 850 euros. The navigation belt around 2,300 euros. The glasses cost up to 4,800 euros. Blind end users do not have to fear the high prices, as recognized assistive devices are generally financed by health insurance.

The most important consideration for me when acquiring any assistive device is everyday practicality. Too large or heavy additional devices, too short battery life, or unintuitive apps can quickly dampen the joy of what is technically possible. In the end, it is about smooth, intuitive everyday management. And that looks a little different for every blind person.

What remains certain is that existing analog assisting systems are at least as important as technological innovations. Guidance systems at platforms and traffic lights or Braille markings on elevators remain indispensable in the future and must be expanded to increase the mobility of blind people in public. The good old cane and the attentive guide dog will surely not be replaced by technology any time soon. Should I maybe also try a pair of glasses? Perhaps. Geordi, here I come!