Where’s the Coverage? Israeli Technology Gives Sight to the Blind
A new device created in Israel aims to help the millions – including an estimated 21 million Americans – with visual impairments.
OrCam, which clips on to eyeglasses and costs about as much as a hearing aid, is able to identify thousands of objects, including faces, text, signs, pricetags and more. The wearer points at the object and the OrCam voice system reads the information into the wearer’s ear.
Yonatan Wexler, the company’s head of R&D, recalls how his team tried the device on an 18-year-old Israeli teen, blind since age five. As reported by Israel21c:
They asked him if he wanted to read the newspaper, and he said yes, sarcastically.
“He put on the device, ‘read’ the newspaper and started to cry,” Oxford-educated Wexler recalls.
[…]The possible uses for this groundbreaking technology are almost endless. But the company founders needed to start somewhere, and so they decided to tackle an area that could benefit humanity. “We wanted to find something with real value,” Wexler says.
Every day, Israeli researchers develop technologies that save and change lives – in this case, bringing to fruition the words of the prophet Isaiah (35:5), “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened.” This is utterly remarkable. Yet… Where’s the coverage?
Watch a video about OrCam, produced by Israel21c:
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