Gadgetory

Eric you're right on this yellow line you're approaching a larger pack in the middle here and about ten more steps they look like they're moving slower than you Eric Mansur isn't the first legally blind runner to finish the Boston Marathon but he is the first to do so with a remote guide and a pair of smart glasses okay you have your GPS my path to blindness has been kind of gradual over many years I could drive a car until about 15 years ago you know what I have remaining at this point I describe if you were to look through a drinking straw and cover the end of that drinking straw with wax paper Erik Mansur has a degenerative eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa Mansur trained for the marathon by running around his neighborhood with this Google glass connected to Jessica an agent from a San Diego startup called IRA yes that Google glass the same ones people dismissed as being creepy and useless now smart glasses are getting a second look partly thanks of those who can't see this dashboard shows Jessica's point of view yeah sounds good oh my gosh yes but the Boston Marathon would push the smart glasses system the visually impaired usually prefer to take two sighted guides for the 26.2 mile race in matters case one of those guides happen to be two states away in Boston when the gun goes off you know there's the initial congestion at the very beginning of a race you're packed in like sardines there are situations in that kind of packed in congestion where it literally feels like people are appearing out of nowhere a few people have you narrow Katya because of limited battery and continuity problems the Google glass system couldn't fully replace a human guide but Jessica was there for 16 of the 26 miles including the last one hi Jess its Roger how you doing I was curious to see how effective a remote guy could be so IRA supplied me with Google glass and connected me with the same agent while I walked around Central Park with an eye mask on it's either a brilliant idea or a terrible idea the goal was to go about 450 feet from a bridge to a model boat pond I generally took my first few steps fearful tripping or crashing into someone or something all right this is actually a bit scarier than I realize but after a while I got you suggest occur describe the scene okay I felt much more comfortable picked up the pace perhaps a little too comfortable I res one of the more colorful examples that there's life yet for smart glasses oh wow and it's not alone the officer hub design group is working to make its own glasses to historically geared towards doctors and factory workers snap spectacles have brought a hip vibe to embedded cameras and glasses and Microsoft Apple and Facebook are all pouring billions into augmented reality and ideal technology for smart glasses mansur for one clearly sees the opportunity the importance of having technology that can be used by everyone regardless of age or ability is something that I feel very personally strong about so while there are hangups that we all need to get over it's clear that there's a lot of good that can come from smart eyewear the technology could potentially change how we view the world as long as we keep finding smart ways to use it you