New Meta AI glasses help veteran see the room around him

Thirty years after losing his eyesight in the Gulf War, a veteran can see again thanks to a pair of Meta AI smart glasses.“The moment I put these glasses on, I instantly realized that this was revolutionary,” said Don Overton, who served with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and was blinded in an ordnance bunker explosion.Last weekend at a lunch hosted by Meta at the Waldorf in Washington, DC, — part of White House Correspondents’ Dinner events — Overton shared his experiences with the glasses with political officials and tech executives.The smart specs — which activate by voice command and can be used as a virtual personal assistant — can help him identify the color of the clothing in his closet, read him menus when he’s out for dinner with his wife, recognize faces and even provide navigation as he walks outside.

An audio system sits close enough to his ear so that he can hear it but others can’t.“All the different adaptive technologies that I’ve tried in 30-plus years were never capable of giving me the levels of independence that I was able to receive with these glasses and to be able to really lighten the burden on my wife, Peggy, who’s been a tremendous caregiver in assisting and supporting me,” Overton said. When Meta’s glasses first launched in 2021, they were essentially glasses with a camera — able to snap photos, record short videos and pipe music through an open-ear speaker.Last September, the company rolled out a new version with AI capabilities.

The specs can now see what the wearer sees and process the world around them — answering questions about their surroundings, translating conversations live and remembering details from earlier in the day.Meta has partnered with the VA to provide the glasses directly to blind veterans.Over the last year, sales of the glasses have tripled, making them Meta’s fastest-growing consumer electronics product.The glasses were a focal point of the Meta luncheon, which celebrated sm...