Alegre Design designs the exterior of the Eyesynth glasses for the blind

Alegre Design studio has collaborated with the Spanish company Eyesynth on making the exterior design of the first glasses that allow blind people and people with poor visual acuity to 'feel the space' through sounds.

The tech company Eyesynth was created over three years ago in Castellón (Spain), with the aim of developing assistive technologies for people with visual disabilities. The result of this intense work has been the Eyesynth glasses and software system, which is made up of a pair of glasses and a microcomputer that processes the information and converts it into understandable audio for the blind. To achieve this, the glasses use 3D cameras and a software algorithm to transform spaces and objects into abstract sound that is transmitted through cochlear headphones (through the skull bone) to the inner ear, which is able to encode it to know information about the size, shape and position of objects within a short and medium distance (up to 6 metres).

Alegre Design studio has been responsible for the exterior design of these glasses integrating the technological device located inside and the auxiliary device that serves as a data processor for the entire system. As the designer Marcelo Alegre explains, ‘This project was proposed to us by Antonio Quesada, CEO of Eyesynth, and it excited us. Because of the satisfaction of being able to contribute to such commendable work and, from a professional point of view, because it fits in with our philosophy of designing everyday objects that help people in their daily lives’. Eyesynth is part of the design segment focused on Alegre Design’s technology that, under the name iMagina, is a new way of developing consumer electronics projects, integrating technology into everyday products which appeal to collective memory. ‘We wanted to get away from the gadget concept. We wanted them to be elegant designer glasses, in line with the latest fashion trends, comfortable and offering complete eye protection, as well as incorporating Eyesynth’s technology, which reduced and adapted its size to our design’, says Alegre.

For its series production, Alegre Design has chosen a French company that is a global leader in luxury eyewear sector. The design of the frame is divided into two parts, a technical part (bridge and temples) which integrates the technology, made of technical thermoplastics and mass-produced aluminium, and a customisable front that uses acetate to manufacture it and allows the development of the product range, with new colours and finishes. For its part, the auxiliary device (which can be hung around the neck or attached to clothing) works as a computer that processes information. It is manufactured using soft thermoplastic materials that allow for an easy grasp and use.  It also works as a tracker and if the user feels he or she is in danger, it has an emergency system.