Science Miracle? Star Trek-style smart glasses that allow the blind to see could be on sale by 2016

A pair of smart glasses that could transform the lives of blind and partially-sighted people could be in the shops as soon as 2016.

The revolutionary technology enables those suffering from sight loss to see obstacles and faces, similar to the fictional high-tech visor worn by Geordi La Forge in TV's Star Trek.

The smart glasses consist of a video camera mounted on the frame of the glasses; a computer processing unit that is small enough to fit in a pocket; and software that provides images of objects close-by to the see-through displays in the eyepieces of the glasses.

The joint project between the University of Oxford and the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) has won a £500,000 grant in a Google charity competition.

The money will enable RNIB and Oxford University to create 100 pairs of smart glasses and test them with 1,000 people.

This will be the first large-scale test of smart glasses and augmented reality for sight enhancement anywhere in the world and is the first step towards getting the glasses made available to everyone who needs them - for as little as £300.

The smart glasses consist of a video camera mounted on the frame of the glasses, a computer processing unit that is small enough to fit in a pocket and software that provides images of objects close-by to the see-through displays in the eyepieces of the glasses.

The transparent electronic displays, where the glasses’ lenses would be, give a simple image of nearby people and obstacles.

The camera with specially designed software interprets the nearby surroundings allowing people to see important things much more distinctly than before, such as kerbs, tables and chairs, or groups of people.

The glasses don’t replace lost vision, but assist with spatial awareness.

Anyone using the glasses looks through them to make the most of their existing sight, with additional images appearing in their line of sight to give extra information about who or what is in front of them. 

Iain Cairns, a copywriter for a marketing agency in London, tried out the smart glasses in Oxford’s Covered Market. The 43-year-old was diagnosed with the inherited eye condition choroideremia at around the age of 12. He has an area of central vision left in each eye.

 He can still work in front of a computer and carry on writing, but started using a cane around three years ago – mostly as a sign to others that moving around can be more of a problem.

On having the glasses fitted outside a café in the Covered Market, Iain reacted: ‘I can see your face. 

'It’s like the Lord of the Rings when he puts the ring on and sees things in a new way.

'That tablecloth is looking lovely. It’s getting the pattern of the tablecloth.

'It’s like I’ve wandered into an 80s pop video. Everyone has cool A-ha drawings round them. It’s now much more of a scene with several people in.’

The Google Impact Challenge is run by the technology giant and asks UK-based charities how they would change the world through innovative technology.

Helen Goulden, executive director of the charity's innovation lab and another judge in the Impact Challenge, said: 'This challenge shines a light on just how many charities are already doing great things with technology to address some of our most pressing challenges,' she said.