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This story is from the category Augmenting Organics
Date posted: 05/03/2013 Images have been transformed into pixels and projected onto a headset to help the visually impaired in everyday tasks such as navigation, route-planning and object finding. Developed using a video camera and mathematical algorithm, the researchers from the University of Southern California hope the pixels can provide more information and enhance the vision of patients already fitted with retinal implants. Lead author of the paper, James Weiland, said: "Blind people with retinal implants can detect motion and large objects and haveimproved orientation when walking. In most cases, they can also read large letters." "At the moment, retinal implants are still low-resolution. We believe that our algorithm will enhance retinal implants by providing the user with more information when they are looking for a specific item." The findings have been presented today, 1 March, in IOP Publishing's Journal of Neural Engineering. A total of 19 healthy subjects were involved in the study, who each undertook training first to get used to the pixelated vision. During the study, they were fitted with a Head Mounted Display (HMD) and took part in three different experiments: walking an obstacle course; finding objects on an otherwise empty table; and searching for a particular target in a cluttered environment. A video camera was mounted onto the HMD which collected real-world information in the view of the subject. Mathematical algorithms converted the real-world images into pixels, which were then displayed onto the HMD?s screen in front of the subject The algorithms used intensity, saturation and edge-information from the camera?s images to pick out the five most important, or salient, locations in the image. Blinking dots at the side of the display provided the subjects with additional directional cues if needed. See the full Story via external site: www.alphagalileo.org Most recent stories in this category (Augmenting Organics): 03/03/2017: Adjustable Smart Desks join the Internet of Things |
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