It may not sound like much, but together a pair of Google Glass glasses and a cell phone could change the life of anyone who is blind or visually impaired.
Boston runner Erich Manser and his running partner, Dave, will be testing out the cutting edge technology during the Boston Marathon.
Manser can hear the voice of a third person, a woman in California who Erich has never met, who is also part of their runs.
That voice belongs to a woman from California, who Manser has never met. The woman acts as Manser's eyes, letting him know when his is nearing a street or intersection. The feat is made possible from a collaboration with technology company AIRA and AT&T.
AIRA bills itself as a visual interpreter of the blind. It's a pairing of the Google Glass and mounted camera on the frame.
The camera is connected to an app on Manser's phone, meaning he can connect to someone anywhere in the United States who sees everything from his point of view.
“If I'm at a grocery store, I can trigger this app on my phone and it puts me in touch with a remote agent who can tell me, ‘here's your layout,’” said Manser.
Manser is one of two people in Massachusetts testing out this technology and on April 18, he's taking it to the extreme by running in the Boston Marathon.
Manser says his visual assistant for that day is equally as excited -- even though she'll be experiencing the race from California.
Just in case the wireless signal cuts out -- which it has in the past -- Dave will also be there running the marathon with him.
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