We’re used to seeing dogs help blind and partially sighted people navigate the world. But normally the dogs are real. Researchers at the University of Glasgow have developed a system to put robot dogs to work for visually impaired people, helping them explore a museum and offering information about the exhibits.
In the UK, more than two million people suffer sight loss of some sort, of whom 340,000 are registered as blind or partially sighted. Most people with sight loss are over the age of 65, and the number of people with sight loss increases each year; it’s set to double by 2050, according to the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB). Most of those people will need some assistance navigating their daily lives.
“Mobility is a big issue for the blind and partially sighted community,” said Jacquie Winning MBE, chief executive of the Forth Valley Sensory Centre, adding that new technologies can “improve the independence and confidence of people with sensory loss and make sure they can live their lives to the full”. Indeed, only one in four blind or partially sighted people are employed – a figure that the RNIB says hasn’t changed for a generation.
To help, researchers are turning to off-the-shelf technologies like smartphones, as well as advanced
