To make photography fun for the visually impaired, Sony has created a retinal projection camera kit combined with a QD laser. By bypassing the outer layers of the eye, this kit allows even those who otherwise have difficulty to see and perceive the world around them.
The history of retinal projection dates back to the 1980s. That’s when a near-blind poet named Elizabeth Goldring (now a senior her fellow at MIT’s Center for Advanced Visual Research) encountered a machine known as a scanning laser ophthalmoscope in an optometrist’s office. Working with the man who invented that machine, Robert Webb, Goldring eventually created a camera called the RIVS, or Retinal Imaging Machine Vision System. By projecting the , it circumvents certain defects in the rest of the eye that cause visual impairment. In effect, it turns the retina into a projection screen that bypasses the eye’s focusing mechanism.
Since then, we’ve seen similar technology incorporated into virtual reality headsets that eventually stopped working. I’ve also seen glasses that were developed only as prototypes.
Now Sony is bringing this technology to the world of digital photography by partnering with a company called QD Laser, which makes an additional retinal projection viewfinder called the Retissa Neoviewer.
“The Retissa Neoviewer’s laser retinal projection is a completely new technology that has been put to practical use for the first time in the world. “The DSC-HX99 RNV kit, which includes Sony’s digital still camera, will help people who find conventional viewfinders difficult to use. I hope that you will enjoy taking pictures, expand your range of activities, and discover new worlds.”
Once the viewfinder is attached to the camera, people with certain types of vision impairments, especially those with focus problems, will have access to all the typical features of the DSC-HX99, capable of capturing 4K video and photos in RAW mode. can. Equipped with 30x optical zoom. The camera can be found online for under $500 USD, but the viewfinder adds an extra cost that Sony doesn’t specify, but you can get a subsidy by introducing the kit for a total of $600. He says he can.
The kit will be available in limited quantities on its website from early this summer (in the northern hemisphere), according to the company.
Sony says the release of the kit corresponds to support for the “With My Eyes” program created by QD Laser. As part of that program, the company has released the following video, which chronicles Paralympic swimmer Kota Shimizu’s gear experience.
With My Eyes 3 ~Discover Your Own World~ (Audio Commentary Version)
Source: Sony Electronics
