‘I’m blind – Meta AI glasses allow me to work again’

A man who has returned to work a year after being registered blind says new AI glasses have been “life-changing”.

Andy Evans, 57, who lives in Larkhall near Bath, became unemployed after leaving his job working nights at a Morrison’s supermarket due to his sight loss.

However, he says he now has a “much better quality of life” since buying the glasses, which have a camera in their frame and tiny speakers in the arms.

Mr Evans, who uses a white cane, said he can order food in a restaurant again and find out “what obstacles are in the path in front of me” by asking his glasses.

The Ray-Ban glasses by Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, are voice-activated, and the user can talk to their built-in artificial intelligence technology to perform tasks.

In the UK, a selection of celebrity voices can be chosen to speak to those who wear the glasses. Mr Evans said he has Dame Judi Dench, who he said calls him James Bond and 007.

He has now returned to work, helping people adjust to sight loss at the Sight Support West of England charity.

“I was really stuck doing a lot of things,” he told BBC Radio Bristol.

“What you can do, you can ask them to look and tell you what’s going on around you. It’s life-changing technology.”

Robin Spinks, head of inclusive design at the Royal National Institute of Blind People, said the glasses are an example of technology making “a real tangible impact for blind and partially sighted people”.

Mr Spinks is also registered blind and said: “I use these glasses every day. Getting a description of a room or a scene on the beach or even a zoo enclosure is quite transformational.

“AI is advancing rapidly, and the market for smart glasses is still in its infancy. But the potential is enormous.”