Meta glasses gifted to Cork’s visually impaired

Cillian Ferry

Over the past fortnight, a number of blind and vision-impaired of Cork have gathered at Vision Ireland’s offices on Penrose Quay to collect Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses designed to help them navigate and interact with the world around them more independently.

The glasses have been distributed as part of a nationwide programme, made possible by Meta who donated 15,000 pairs of Ray-Ban Meta glasses to people in Ireland who are blind or vision impaired. Over 2,000 people have registered their interest since the donation was announced on 13 August.

Cork is one of the latest locations to host ‘gifting events’, at which recipients get their glasses, as well as receive training and support to set them up and use them. This phase of the programme will see 40 such events nationwide.

Cork-based David Redmond who is blind and works as a Technology Trainer for Vision Ireland as well as hosting their Talking Technology podcast explains the significant impact the glasses can have.

He said: “For recipients, the glasses offer more than just wearable technology, by using artificial intelligence to provide information about the world around them and support greater independence in everyday situations. The glasses can help users read printed and digital text, identify and describe objects and surroundings, access live translation and make hands-free calls.”

Chris White, Chief Executive Officer of Vision Ireland, said bringing this technology to the people of Ireland within their own communities and “giving them the confidence to use it in ways that can make a real difference to their lives day to day” is extremely rewarding.

Anne O’Leary, Vice President and Head of Meta Ireland, commented on how great it is to see that the donation of 15,000 pairs of glasses is already having an impact on the blind and visually impaired people of Cork.

“At Meta, we believe the future is for everyone, and this landmark programme with Vision Ireland is a wonderful example of how Meta’s AI can be a gamechanger for accessibility.”