Slashdot Mirror
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.
.. 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...)
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
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
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? ;-)
> 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.
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