Not-so-pervasive computing for the visually impaired

Look, we wouldn't be any more excited about wearing that godawful getup than the lady pictured right (actually, she
does seem pretty stoked), but the Human Interface Technology Laboratory's new visual aid system has got some serious practical use for the visually impaired. The 15-pound laptop/backback analyzes IR visual data in its field of vision (about ten feet) sent to it by the 1-pound(!) glasses/headset, and then sends back alerts to the wearer that they're about to hit something. Apparently the apparatus is low-cost (the most expensive parts being the laptop and
$400 laser-diode), hitting somewhere beneath the $1000 mark, which is huge news for potential buyers (we all know how pricey medical technology is). We're rooting for the production model to be embedded so they can shed the laptop (or at least give 'em an X505!), but if we were smacking into stuff left and right, we wouldn't have a whole lot of room to complain about those details right yet.

[Via Technology Trends]