Students in Israel at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have developed new technology that allows blind people to “see” objects around them through a simple radar system. The device consists of a computer, two video cameras and a scanning light source that audibly alerts the individual of objects that are close in proximity. The system scans surrounding objects and their distance from two points, much like the human eyes. Currently, vision impaired people need either a sensor cane or a guide dog in order to walk freely, both of which take up the use of one hand. This invention could prove to change all of that. Read more: Students Develop Radar Device to Help Blind People "See" | Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World

Camera sends electrical pulses to lollypop-like sensor in mouth allowing Craig Lundberg to visualise surroundings

AT 4 O’CLOCK each morning, Laura J. Sloate begins her daily reading. She calls a phone service that reads newspapers aloud in a synthetic voice, and she listens to The Wall Street Journal at 300 words a minute, which is nearly twice the average pace of speech.

A. The Product: STEP-HEAR™ is a Navigation and Information reference point system designed for the use of blind and visually impaired people. It is aimed to alleviate the fundamental problem of blind and visually impaired person’s; orientation and navigation, i.e., knowing where they are and getting around independently.

Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) -- A miniature video camera in the center of his eyeglass frames and tiny electrodes implanted at the back of his right eye allow Dean Lloyd to see lights and shapes, more than 30 years after he lost his vision.