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New Device Could Overcome Low Vision
Johan Jonasson cites a
story at Wired which reads in part: "Low vision can't be corrected with medical procedures, glasses or contact lenses. But a new product from Microvision that uses lasers to 'paint' rows of pixels directly onto the eye is helping people with low-vision see clearly again." "The device, called Nomad, consists of two pieces: a small control module worn clipped on to a belt, and the head-worn display. The control module receives a video signal from a computer -- a desktop, laptop or a wearable computer -- which processes this signal to drive a low-power laser. The light is then scanned by a small mirror to create images." Essentially, it's the same type of display that many wearables come with, but with the image enhanced to compensate for the low-vision user's greater needs.
OK, I'm sure that the technology is considered safe, but then again so was DDT and Asbestos at one time.
What if it simply erodes these peoples vision to nothing, then they can't have "true" perfect vision when something better comes along in a few years?
I'm not trying to condemn the technology or anything. I think its great that there's the potential that people who normally couldn't have their vision corrected will see an improvement. I'd like to see a more in depth article though, this one is not any better than an infomercial.
Chris Kuivenhoven is a thief, beware
...your boss would, of course, have a pointy head!
Instead of a single laser and a mirror, though, that fictional device was pairs of red, green, and blue lasers onto goggles IIRC. I would rather have phenomenonscopic spectacles like the court reporter in the Diamond Age, I think.
"How many light bulbs does it take to change a person?" --BMcC-->
a long with a picture of a complete tool prodly wearing it.
-Jon
this is my sig.
I bet you don't wear glasses or contact lenses, do you? :o)
"How many light bulbs does it take to change a person?" --BMcC-->
which processes this signal to drive a low-power laser. The light is then scanned by a small mirror to create images
Who needs a planetarium for midnight Pink Floyd laser shows, when you can just strap this gizmo onto your head and zone out? This is far better than those rave shows where some nose-studded guy with an Amiga pumps out some colored blotches on a wall.
I can hear the cash registers klinking now... or maybe it's just the start of the song Money...
[
.. look like La Forge?
I can see a whole generation of trekkies using this to improve their already good vision, with variable success.
Maybe we could use this technique to become Tetrachromats?? We are the Tetrachromats. You will be assimilated. (vision-enabling laser and all...)
Who knows what could happen if the low vision person in question gets their Nomads mixed up... I wonder what six gigs of streamed MP3's would LOOK like anyway?
"wow... I can see the music man. It's all one and zeroy."
How close is this to the funky glasses in _SnowCrash_, though?
.|` Clouds cross the black moonlight,
~Tim
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~Tim
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Rushing on down to the circle of the turn
Now, wouldn't that become sensitive to EM noise? Heck - I remember a few years ago - I had my PC at my grandparents and when the damn thing was working their old radio (one with vacuum tubes) was catching quite a lot from the EM noise.
:)
It wouldn't be nice to start having "image black-outs" just because you passed under a high-voltage line
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The whole promise of retinal scanning displays is that they are 1) incredibly sharp, and can (theoretically) 2) be squeezed into much small packages than LCD based systems (because LCD systems have to have an array /somewhere/ and RSD's don't.
/very/ interesting UI posibilities. Imagine themeable worlds in 20 years!)
True, this is currently only about the size of a normal LCD headset, but it will shrink, and I want one!!! (the little detail about see-through visual overlays has some
-- Crutcher --
#include <disclaimer.h>
-- Crutcher --
#include <disclaimer.h>
Call me cynical, but if you have one of these things attached to a belt-worn PC (just wait until Bluetooth achieves ubiquity), then you're just asking for trouble. You walk down the street, and suddenly you're in the middle of a game of quake. It'd be a fascinating reason in court for going postal. ... apply ... light energy directly to the retina is substantially better than conventional technologies offered today" Looks like they've got William Shatner as spokesman.
Some proper observations: isn't this the same thing that (for example) engineers are going to use for RTFMing on the job? And how the hell are you going to use a voice-activated control? 'Look over there?'
My favourite quote: "Its ability to
John Hopkins and a few other places are working on something quite a bit better. Admittedly I don't think the resolution is quite as good... but then again, you aren't carrying around a computer to see either. Just some glasses (not that thick either) and a nice little chip in your eye. you do need an optic nerve though.
This one actually shoots light into your eyes, being as you are having a hard time seeing already (ie there is not enought light bouncing off of objects already for you.) this can add an increased amount of light focused directly into your eye. You have to wonder if this is going to destroy your eyes that much faster?
An example, a hearing aid works like a little amplifier sitting in or hanging on your ear increasing sound levels for the wearer. A stereo has similar function, but simply broadcasts sound for a room.
Conventional displays from Blue Tooth etc, allow your eye to function as normal and view the reflected light from the display (not targeted at anything in particular.)
AF-Design, web development.
I got to use one of their original units, just red colors (now they have units that are full color). It is unbelievable that you can see an image on your eye even as you focus on the surrounding environment. They are currently trying to find uses in military aircraft (lose the HUD, which only works while looking forward).
I was skeptical at first, but seeing it was amazing.
-- toolie
RTFA. This is not for people who have vision problems that can be fixed by standard means, this is for people whose sight is worse than that can be by hundreds of year old technology. Think about your grandmother who can't see well enough anymore to be able to get around independantly. With this tech, people like that will be able to have freedom again.
Marxism is the opiate of dumbasses
A retinal scanner will be the most compact portable display device when it is perfected. At ordinary power it will be the display of choice for normal vision.
My grandfather has macular degeneration, a form of "low vision". Unfortunately as it's not a problem with focussing, it's not fixed with eyeglasses. It's not fixed surgically either, since it involves the retina directly. Truth is, he had normal eyesight through his seventies and early eighties. Now he can barely read and will likely be blind in a short time. I know he can see much better in very high light situations, which makes sense since the problem is related to the retina not having enough "gain" and so needing excessive amounts of lignt. I suppose this device helps by brightening the world a lot. I bet if a normal-vision person looked through the nomad, it woudl be really bright. A ./ toy? Probably not...
these things are usually old-age related and
we're really young, right? ;-)
Wow, this really looks neat. I was born with low vision that has been corrected to "acceptable" levels, for small values of acceptable. The thing that stinks is that I can see well enough to drive and perform every routine human function, but I'm *just this side* of normal when it comes to detailed work (like computer stuff; ever see anyone with a 21" monitor at 800x600? :) You will when you come into my workplace after I've been reeading the monitor at 1024x768 for a few hours.)
That said, I know people with much lower vision. For them, life *really* sucks. They see blurred shapes, degrees of light, things like that. This product is a definite plus for them. Even video-camera quality images are much better than what they can get from their natural equipment. For someone like me, it probably isn't really an option, but the fact that we can now restore decent vision to those worse off than I am is great.
Uh oh, Creative already patented the "Nomad" name for their "portable PDE systems" (Personal Digital Entertainment). I sense an impending lawsuit or doctored settlement with Creative Technologies, Ltd., LLC, CRAP, etc.
"Ancillary does not mean you get to rule the world." --U.S. Circuit Judge Harry Edwards, speaking to the FCC's lawyer
> Essentially, it's the same type of display that many wearables come with
I'm not aware of (m)any wearable computers that use retinal scan display technology, but I'm willing to be enlightenend. There's a fundamental difference between retinal scan (no picture plane other than the retina) and LCD goggles, which create an intermediary picture plane that your eye has to focus on. The potential for miniaturization is much greater in retinal scan.
Man...A technological advance letting the visually impaired see enough to simply navigate the real world. Maybe to see enough to go to the bathroom, or get a drink out of the fridge. Jesus, guys...Are you honestly concerned that there's an nVida chipset involved so that the blind can play Unreal Tournament? Yeesh! I remember seeing a PBS Nova episode LONG ago...Where a congenitally deaf girl was surgically fitted with an electonic aural implant. It was amazing to watch her as she heard her own voice for the first time! There was not a dry eye in the house!
How are we supposed to evolve if we are constantly fixing our broken selfs with add-on technology? I mean, if there were a magic pill that cured EVERYTHING, gave us the perfect bodies, and the only catch was that you had to take a pill every day, you can bet your ass people would be dieing left and right after they forgot to take their pills (re: Andromeda Strain).
Technology as a crutch should only be used as a temporary fix for people who are born with these defects. It should not be something that is factory issued at birth (yes, I mean FACTORY, let's call it like it is once we begin to upgrade from conception). If we really want to create the "perfect human" (sorry, I know I won't see it in my lifetime, and since I'll never be one, my personal stance is "screw it", but hey), our focus should be on genetic therapy and propogation. Every scientist has to realize the power that comes from being able to start fresh instead of fix something that is already broken. While we're at it, why not just rewrite the humane genome as well, I know we can come up with some really interesting alterations.
Homo Sapien 2.0
I can't wait.
Hammer of Truth