WHITBY, ON, May 17, 2016 /CNW/ - Vision loss can have a profound impact on people's lives and their ability to remain fully independent. The loss of the ability to read independently can impact one's ability to handle one's own financial affairs, handle correspondence or stay informed with current events. The emotional toll of this can be devastating for people who are accustomed to their own autonomy and having to rely on friends and family to deal with printed or written information can be enormously frustrating.
In the past electronic video magnifiers could help people with vision loss perform reading tasks by enlarging and enhancing text, but their ability to help with tasks like distance viewing, watching TV or seeing people's faces were extremely limited. Portability was also an issue until the advent of portable handheld video magnifiers. Like their desktop based counterparts these devices offer significant magnification and text enhancement, but their ability for distance viewing is also very limited.
For many years the goal of companies who manufacture low vision aids has been to create a visual aid that is worn like a pair of glasses but which can still provide significant enlargement, text enhancement and distance viewing. Until now though the few devices that have come to market were bulky, had wired controllers and battery packs and were extremely expensive.
NuEyes is a company founded by two US Veterans, Mark Greget and Justin Moore. Their first product offering, the NuEyes Easy, is a major step forward in head worn magnification technology. NuEyes was developed in partnership with Osterhout Design Group, a military contractor who developed glasses for battlefield applications such as drone piloting and 360 degree viewing for tank drivers. Their glasses and software have been modified to assist people with visual impairments and to provide a platform for further feature development.
The current NuEyes Easy glasses offer magnification up to 12 times and contrast enhancement of print; they also can be customized with prescription lenses. Over the next few months the software on these glasses will also be updated to offer OCR (Text to Speech), where the glasses will read a document to you, as well as the ability to Stream TV and Movies directly to the glasses via Wi-Fi connection.
Unlike previous generations of head worn devices there are no bulky controllers or batteries to contend with. It weights a mere 125 grams, just slightly less than an iPhone 6. The glasses have voice recognition technology built into them for control as well as manual controls on the glasses themselves. There is also an included wireless Bluetooth controller which can be worn on a finger to control the glasses. Most importantly though, the NuEyes Easy has entered the market at less than half the price of the nearest competitive device.
NuEyes is distributed in Canada by Aroga Technologies, www.aroga.com. Aroga has been distributing high tech vision aids in Canada for over 28 years and has offices in Whitby Ontario, Gatineau Quebec, Calgary Alberta and Burnaby British Columbia.
"We are extremely excited to be able to bring this emerging technology to Canadians with low vision," said Steve Barclay, COO of Aroga. "We take so much for granted when we have good eyesight. I can't tell you the number of times I've had customers tell me that all they want to be able to do is to read or see the face of their grandchildren. For many people, NuEyes will help with return that ability as well as offer much more in terms of features."
The glasses sport an impressive array of features including an LED light to help in dark environments, haptic feedback built into the temples, autofocusing high definition optics, 2 digital microphones, stereo magnetically connected earphones, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS sensor, 3-axis Gyroscope, 3-axis magnetometer, barometric pressure and humidity Sensors and an ambient light sensor.
Late in 2016 NuEyes expects to release a second version of the glasses, the NuEyes Pro which will add access to the full Android platform and will include Internet Browsing, Email and Social Media Applications. Users will then be able to add any of the over 2 million android applications to the glasses to further enhance their features.
NuEyes will have a definite impact for visually impaired Canadians across the country. Lighter, cheaper and with vastly more features and capabilities than its main competitor, NuEyes is sure to shake up the head worn magnification technology market.
SOURCE Aroga Technologies
Image with caption: "NuEyes Visaul Prosthetic Device Arrives in Canada (CNW Group/Aroga Technologies)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160517_C1085_PHOTO_EN_693296.jpg
Image with caption: "Aroga Technologies (CNW Group/Aroga Technologies)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160517_C1085_PHOTO_EN_693334.jpg
Steve Barclay, COO, 1-800-561-6222 xt 1102, [email protected], www.aroga.com
Share this article