The technology has long been there, all it takes is the development needed for it to become consumer-friendly in regard to the price. And that’s exactly what happened. Twenty years back, Elizabeth Goldring from MIT visited her optometrist, completely blind. During her session, the doctor used scanning laser opthalmoscope (SLO) to project images into her unseeing eye to test her retina. Recognizing the possibilities of such a technology, the “seeing machine” started development. [The camera is “a ‘seeing machine’ that can allow some people who are blind or visually challenged to access the Internet, view the face of a friend and much more.”–Ed.]
The original SLO diagnostic device costs $100,000 and is obviously beyond the reach of ordinary consumers. Prior to the current version, a desktop model was developed costing $4,000, which is still a bit pricier than Goldring would have wanted. Numerous changes were made to the original SLO machine, perhaps the most important of which is replacing the laser with LEDs – a much cheaper alternative. With the advent of smaller LCDs and other components for the device, the “seeing machine” evolved into something portable and affordable.
The current prototype is a five-inch square gadget attached onto a digital camera that provides the visual feed projected onto a visually-impaired person’s eyes through a single point of light. “This is not magnification,” said Quinn Smithwick from the MIT Media Lab. “What makes this work is focusing the data into a tiny spot of light.” Goldring says the machine could be made for $500 each, hence the possibility of mass production.
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