Webdragon

Late last year Microsoft released a revolutionary hands-free control system for their Xbox 360 console, named Kinect. Ever since, researchers and hackers have been devising new uses for the system, which consists of a pair of motorised cameras that tracks users. Now students at a German university have come up with a method of using the Kinect to help guide people with visual impairments.

The students' device works by attachments components of the Kinect into a specialised hard-hat, connected to a laptop in a backpack worn by the user. The Kinect's cameras are used to map the area in front of the user, providing feedback by a Bluetooth headset.

Much like the iPhone and iPad, the latest generation of computing equipment is making brilliant strides towards empowering people with disabilities through technology.

Read more at the original Gizmag article (opens in new window).