Today we look at a set of glasses that uses artificial intelligence to help blind people with a wide range of activities.

This is from a company called Envision, and their system is built on the Google Glass framework.

It’s got a high-resolution camera, so if you put some text in front of the glasses, it can read the text for you, in 60 different languages.

That alone is pretty handy, but Envision can do even more.

The camera can detect faces of people you know, so if you’re in the office and your coworker Bob stops by with a question, it’ll let you know that Bob is there in front of you because it’s time to start the video meeting.

And it can set up the video meeting.

The glasses can detect whether a lamp is on, so you can turn off the lights before leaving the house.

And it can detect color, so if you want to pick out blue socks to go with your blue jeans, you’ll be all set.

And if you’re out walking around in the world, it’ll describe the outdoor setting for you.

If the neighbor’s rose bushes are in full bloom, you’ll know about them.

That’s one versatile pair of glasses!

I could use smart glasses that can warn me if it sees a potential for social interaction ahead.

Lots of writers drop by the coffee shop to get inspired, or sometimes to find a way around a case of writer’s block.

There’s a cafe in Tokyo that’s geared toward this key coffee shop demographic.

The Manuscript Writing Cafe only serves coffee and water; people can bring in other food and drinks if they want.

But the real purpose, as the name suggests, is for people to sit down, charge their devices, and get some writing done on deadline!

I can confirm we need more places like that in the world.

AI-powered smart glasses for the blind can read and recognize faces (Designboom)

Unique Tokyo Café Only Serves Struggling Writers Working on Tight Deadlines (Oddity Central)

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Photo by Sadjad Frogh, via Envision