A lot of cities have talking pedestrian aids these days, but many more don’t. I can’t imagine how dangerous it must be to cross the street by ear alone. I’ve heard that when you can’t see, you get used to relying on your other senses so that they become more acute, but it still seems awful dangerous to cross a busy street if you can’t see whether a car is coming. Even people who can see make a stupid mistake and get creamed from time to time, so it’s probably a good thing Professor Tadayohi Shioyama and his peers at the Kyoto Institute of Technology have invented an “electric eye” which detects pedestrian crossings and the color of any relevant traffic lights. The eye is of course attached to a computer for image analysis, and a speaker placed near the ear informs our pedestrian of the situation. Don’t be surprised to see this on the market as a pair of glasses within the next few years.
Electronic eye help blind people cross roads [WeMakeMoneyNotArt]
