In World magazine, Michael Cochrane shares about a new technology called “augmented reality” (AR). Using this “augmented reality” a group of researchers from Cal Tech developed an app for Microsoft’s HoloLens. This app enables blind people to navigate through buildings.
According to the MIT Technology Review, this app has video capabilities to capture video to create a 3D map of a path through a campus building. The app sends voice commands, like a car GPS or Google Maps, to the person wearing the HoloLens. These voice commands could be anything from “Railings on both sides,” “Upstairs,” or “Right turn ahead.”
The female, Siri like voice, will repeat the words, “follow me.” It is designed to sound as if she is a few feet in front of the wearer.
Markus Meister, a Caltech professor and a co-author of the study, acknowledged that for now, routes must be scanned in advance and there isn’t a way for the system to track other people who might be in the wearer’s path. But he believes the research could lead to devices that help the visually impaired navigate public spaces such as hotels or shopping malls. (Michael Cochrane, “Guide for the Blind,” World, June 19, 2018).
Just like this HoloLens with its augmented reality tells blind people directions to navigate through buildings, Jesus told four fishermen to “Come, follow me.” (Matthew 4:19) This leads them to navigate from lives of sin to lives committed to Him.