Bright: an augmented reality assistive platform for visual impairment

Ashish M. Bakshi, Jan Simson, Cesar de Castro, Charlene Chenyang Yu, Andreas Dias

Abstract: 283 million people suffer from moderate to severe vision impairment or blindness; many today rely on lens-based optical aids of limited use. Electronic pass-through zoom headsets are extremely expensive and provide narrow feature sets with compromised comfort and ease-of-use, while mobile app-based aids provide useful functionality but in an inconvenient form factor. The present project explores the development of an aid for the visually impaired, designed as a software solution running on off-the-shelf optical see-through augmented reality head-mounted display devices such as the Microsoft HoloLens, to deliver a broad feature set while reducing cost and optimizing comfort and usability.