TIL: Smart glasses aren't just for pricks, they are an accessibility aid

I wasn’t a fan of smart glasses. Mostly because of the way they were advertised as a tool for influencers, people who constantly want to stream or those who need to always have the newest and coolest in terms of gadgets. I also see them as a privacy and security worry – there were quite a few instances of people using them to doxx others in real time and I like to see people holding up their phone to film things rather than having to spot a small light on someone’s shades.

It could also be that I just couldn’t be bothered with them as I have bad eyesight and need glasses since I was 12 or so. Now I am at a stage where I need varifocals that cost a ton and the deterioration of my eyes means I can’t use contacts. And even if I could, I tried contacts once but my brain really doesn’t like my fingers near my eyeballs.

Then I organised the AI and Accessbility day last week and two of my non-sighted friends, Artur Ortega and Léonie Watson both have smart glasses. Leonie even wrote about her use of smart glasses in detail and Artur has been using them for a while now. They both use them as an accessibility aid, to help them navigate the world around them and to read text that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to see.
I was surprised to see how much they liked them and how useful they found them.

They both said that the glasses have made a significant difference in their daily lives, allowing them to do things that would otherwise be difficult or impossible. For example, they can read signs and labels that they couldn’t before, or navigate unfamiliar places more easily. The main difference is that they don’t need to pick up their phones to do this and point it in the right direction, all they need to do is to look in the right direction and the glasses will do the rest.

It made me realise that smart glasses aren’t just a gimmick for influencers or a privacy concern, but can actually be a valuable tool for people with disabilities. And one that feels natural to use, and with an affordable price tag.

I still won’t buy any – for the reasons I mentioned above – but I can see how they can be a useful tool for others. And I hope that more people will see them as such, rather than just a toy for the rich and famous. It shows once again that a benefitting audience can be found in the most unexpected places, and that technology can be a force for good when used in the right way.