Virtual guide dog: new navigation for the visually impaired | FIU News [Video]

FIU engineering majors Gabriel Habech and Michael Romano have always aspired to improve the lives of others through innovation and entrepreneurship.

“Our world’s toughest challenges require novel, groundbreaking solutions,” said Romano, a Massachusetts native and mechanical engineering senior. “Working together with Gabriel, we’ve merged our engineering background with a knowledge of tech and AI to devise a new solution for the challenge of visual impairment.”

The two-member team recently created BeyondSight– an assistive technology company that empowers the visually impaired with the security and freedom to go anywhere. Their product is a pair of smart glasses that gathers visual data and a haptic feedback belt that substitutes touch for sight to recreate a 3D environment. The visually impaired can then better navigate and respond to the physical world around them. Using technology that aligns with the brain’s natural processing capabilities, BeyondSight can offer an experience superior to red-tipped canes and guide dogs, according to the …