MIAMI — Artificially intelligent glasses that can detect objects and people within a range of up to 30 feet have been created by two mechanical engineering students at Florida International University (FIU) to help those who are blind or visually impaired.
Two students interested in improving the quality of life for people who are blind or visually impaired have created smart glasses to improve this visual impairment. The toughest challenges require new and innovative solutions.
“We have cameras that work just like our eyes and we have optical engines in the helmet that indicate the location of objects,” explains Gabriel Habash, a Florida International University student and creator of BeyondSight.
Habish and Michael Romano aspire to improve the lives of others but through innovation and entrepreneurship.
“We became best friends and then we started meeting every week last fall. So we told each other we were going to present 3 ideas, 3 global problems.”
At one of those meetings, Gabriel told Michael that a friend of his in Brazil was going blind. “And we said, ‘We’re going to work on finding a solution for the blind community.’”
The glasses can detect any object within 30 feet of the person wearing them and “send that information to our computer, which in turn transmits that information using vibrations.”
“We did everything. We developed the code, the electrical part, the hardware, everything,” the students explain.
Professor Robert Hacker is a mentor for this and other projects at StartUP FIU, the university’s innovation hub. “They have the same opportunities to help able-bodied but disabled populations,” he says.
According to the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, there are 49 million blind people in the world, 1 million of whom are in the United States. Florida has the highest number of visually impaired people in the entire United States. So it’s the perfect place to make a difference with a product like this.
Because there are things you can do with money, Michael thinks, but he says nothing compares to the feeling of seeing someone smile when they wear glasses. As a final concept, Gabrielle and Michael are convinced that their glasses represent a different experience than canes used by the blind or guide dogs.
StartUP FIU works with innovators like Gabriel and Michael. If you are an investor, you can join the project and help these two students and others with their various projects.
“Beer enthusiast. Subtly charming alcohol junkie. Wannabe internet buff. Typical pop culture lover.”