“It gives me the advantages that sighted people have.” For Brian Manning, smart glasses are more than just a fun toy; they bring new independence and an easier way to interact with the world.
A partnership with Ray-Ban and Oakley, Meta’s new generation of smart glasses have cameras built in to take photos and video, subtle speakers so the wearer can hear audio, and a microphone to interact with the artificial intelligence that ties everything together.
Manning is no stranger to assistive technology. An IT trainer at Vision Ireland, he has tested many devices intended to make life easier.
“We had so many experiences of wearables that were going to change the lives of blind people. I’ve experienced them, I tested them and none of them every really worked out. So I was a bit dismissive and cynical initially,” he says.
But as talk about the glasses and their potential picked up pace, he decided to try them out. The glasses were a birthday gift to himself, a chance to test them out not as a technology trainer but from a more personal perspective.
