Visually impaired members of Israel's Maccabi health management organization can now receive partial coverage for "smart" eyeglasses that can decipher text, identify faces, and distinguish banknotes and other items.
The smart glasses technology was developed by the Israeli firm OrCam, another company started by Mobileye co-founders Professor Amnon Shashua and Ziv Aviram.
Aviram and Shashua say OrCam will "revolutionize" the lives of the visually impaired in the way that hearing aids have done for the deaf.
The glasses, known as OrCam MyEye 2.0, features a tiny camera attached to the glasses, which takes pictures of written material – both analog and digital – and reads text into the wearer's ear.
The OrCam MyEye includes a wireless earpiece about the size of a finger. The artificial vision technology is activated by an intuitive gesture by the wearer or by the wearer moving his or her head.
The glasses do not require a smartphone or a Wi-Fi connection.
The smart eyewear does not come cheap – the most expensive version costs 18,000 shekels ($5,000). The Maccabi discount, which takes effect in two months, will enable the HMO's patients to buy it for 10,800 shekels ($3,010). Another model costs 15,000 shekels ($4,200), discounted to 8,800 shekels ($2,400) for Maccabi patients.
