Smart glasses changed my life, says blind man

A man who is blind said smart glasses have been a "game-changer" in helping him to navigate life.

Kevin Ramsey, 48, from Haverhill in Suffolk, is completely blind and uses a guide dog.

He is a volunteer with sight-loss charity, Suffolk Sight, which recently gave him a demonstration of Meta glasses that can read things like restaurant menus and help track walking routes.

Ramsey decided to invest in a pair and said the technology had completely changed his life.

"If you go to a restaurant then it is able to help you read the menus," he told BBC Radio Suffolk's Wayne Bavin.

"You can go into shops, pick up an item and ask 'what is this?' and it will tell you."

When out with his guide dog, Ramsey uses the VoiceVista app which tracks where he is going, and this links with the technology.

He said: "If I get lost I can ask what's around me and it will tell me."

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Ramsey added that using the glasses means he does not have to continuously reach for his phone, so it remains safe in his pocket.

He said the glasses, which range in cost between £200 and £400, had been worth paying for and believed they could radically help those who are visually impaired.

"It just helps with your everyday life," he added.

But Ramsey said he was aware of concerns about smart glasses from some people.

This includes reports where men wearing the glasses film themselves approaching women, without their knowledge or consent, to ask casual questions or use pick-up lines before posting the videos on social media.

UK courts recently banned people using the glasses inside their buildings and a number of restaurants and theatres have done the same.

Ramsey is concerned more places might ban them which could negatively affect visually impaired people using them.

"If they stop them in pubs and restaurants... it's going to be a bit of a pain for us," he added.

Meta has previously told the BBC people should behave responsibly with any technology.

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