Recently, on a whim, my dad bought a pair of Ray-Ban Meta AI eyeglasses. We had no idea what a difference these glasses would make.
He and my sister had been investigating options that might improve his vision. This wearable tech gives Dad increased independence, which has become something in short supply as his vision fades.
Some things you should know about Dad. He is 88 years old and nearly blind from macular degeneration. He was diagnosed decades ago and faithfully treats the degenerative disease with regular visits to all the experts. But, as expected, the older he gets the worse his vision becomes.
Also, Dad retired from computer giant IBM. He worked with the company from the early days when computers took up entire rooms (think “Hidden Figures”) through the 1990s, so he has long embraced technology.
Technology is a tool, Dad has always said. We should use it to help us with our daily tasks at work and at home. It’s certainly not reserved for the young. Internet, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi have been part of his regular tech setup for years. Dad’s hearing aids are wirelessly paired to his iPhone. One time, while he was in the ICU, he took a call on his hearing aids. His smartphone was charging on the windowsill across the room. The nurses worried that Dad was hearing voices. Nope, I explained, he’s just having a conversation with his neighbor.
Dad uses Alexa and Siri like a pro. He checks the time and the weather. He sets a wake-up alarm (but only if he has something on his schedule). He learns how the stock market is trending. And he’s always on the lookout for something that will make his daily tasks easier.
Technology has been slow to enter the world of vision. The human eye and the signals it sends are complex. When Dad and my sister discovered the smart glasses option, it was clear Meta had launched something that could truly change the lives of those with reduced vision. I’m not sure they have fully thought through the benefits of this technology. The tech giant offers warnings for sighted users against secretly recording people or using the technology for nefarious actions.
Dad investigated other types of AI glasses, including one which looked like a bulky VR headset. He didn’t like that. He’s self-conscious enough about his white cane. The fact that the Meta glasses look like any other pair of glasses was a big selling point for him. No one knows he’s getting tech help unless he tells them.
When the glasses arrived, I quickly set up a Facebook account for Dad. One is needed to access the software that powers the software. Glasses charge each night like his phone and hearing aids. The tech setup for the glasses includes speakers, internet connectivity and a camera for video or still photos.
According to the marketing materials, Ray-Ban Meta glasses provide help to those with reduced vision, hearing and mobility by offering the ability to perform tasks hands-free that typically would require handling a phone.
Dad has trouble handling the phone. He must guess where to swipe to answer a call. If the phone happens to be upside down, he is lost. In addition, he often unknowingly clicked the screen and moved buttons or changed the layout. This made the phone useless until a sighted person fixed it.
With his glasses synced to his phone, Dad can now make or answer a call, send or read a text message and take a photo or video all using his voice. The glasses are also available with prescription lenses, which Dad no longer needs.
He most often uses his voice to activate the camera in the glasses and “look” at something and then tell him what it sees. Speakers for the glasses are in the earpieces and sit just above Dad’s high-tech hearing aids. Only he hears the audio prompts and answers.
In no time at all, Dad figured out his Meta glasses could read a restaurant menu to him. The glasses can isolate only the dessert options, if that’s what he wants to hear. The glasses can read anything, really, including the Leader newspaper.
In church, Dad’s glasses can read him the Bible passages being studied. Better yet, he can use Wi-Fi or phone data to access the internet and send answers to the Sunday School Bible trivia straight to his ear. Dad is always right. (He rarely answers.)
He wore the glasses to his regular eye exam, and his providers were unfamiliar with the tech. Dad presented a little show-and-tell. He hasn’t been able to read the standard eye chart for years. But at that visit, he was able to “read” the 20/20 vision line. He quickly demanded the return of his driver’s license. (That was a joke.)
He no longer needs me to read paperwork or sign things for him. He always was perfectly capable of understanding and deciding. He just couldn’t see.
One of Dad’s top concerns is whether his clothes match before we go out. Now, he asks his glasses what he’s holding. “A pair of black socks” or “a blue plaid shirt” the glasses reply. He can be confident he doesn’t leave the house wearing one brown shoe and one black shoe. He also asks Meta to identify the money he is holding. American paper currency is all the same size and shape. However, a $1 bill is different from a $100 bill.
While Meta is busy developing its next generation of high-tech lenses with a heads-up display which benefits sighted users, I wish they would focus on features to help those with limited vision.
First on my wish list is a way to sync the glasses with the database of faces and names that is Dad’s growing Facebook friends list. Then, if someone greets him at church with a friendly hello, Dad could hear in his ear that Meta thinks this is his friend, Hannah. I believe the facial recognition technology exists, but Meta hasn’t tapped in yet. Or Dad hasn’t figured out a way to make it work – yet.