‘Talking’ Tech Peer Support Group

Mavis Technologies, a Northampton-based assistive technology company founded by University of Northampton graduate David Sikharulidze, is set to transform the lives of blind and partially sighted people with the launch of its revolutionary AI smart glasses, Mavis Viaro and Mavis Itero.

Launched officially this month at an event at The University of Northampton, the AI smart glasses feature a range of life-enhancing capabilities that will provide increased independence and confidence for people who are blind or have low vision.

Designed through lived experience and developed specifically for blind and partially sighted users, the technology addresses a rapidly growing and underserved need in the UK and beyond. An estimated two million people in the UK currently live with significant sight loss, a figure expected to rise to more than four million by 2050. At the same time, traditional support solutions remain under pressure, with long waiting lists for guide dogs and many mainstream technologies still not built with visual impairment as the primary user need. Mavis Technologies was created to solve that gap.

Founded in Northampton by visually impaired computer scientist and engineer David Sikharulidze, the company was born from both academic research and personal determination. Living with high myopia and a lifelong risk of retinal detachment, David understood first-hand the daily barriers faced by people with sight loss. What began as research into smart glasses as assistive technology during his second master’s studies evolved into a company with a clear mission: to build bespoke, life-enhancing solutions for the visually impaired community.

Today, the Northampton-based Mavis team is focused on creating category-leading assistive smart glasses that support safer navigation, better communication, and more confident independent living, with ambitions to scale first across the UK and then globally.

A major differentiator for the business is that Mavis Viaro and Mavis Itero will be manufactured in the UK, reinforcing the company’s commitment to British innovation, quality, and homegrown technology leadership.

Key product capabilities will aid the user in the following areas:

• Obstacle detection: patented laser technology providing warnings in less than half a second
• Environmental awareness: real-time description of surroundings
• Navigation: turn-by-turn guidance
• Reading and information access: printed text read aloud instantly
• Facial recognition: identifying familiar faces
• Communication: making and receiving calls and messages
• Remote assistance: enabling friends or family to support users through video calling

Please come along to hear from David and Martin and ask any questions you may have as well as sharing your ideas for topics of discussion and speakers you would like to hear from for the upcoming year.

We hope you can make it and look forward to seeing you there!

If you are unable to make this meeting but would like to stay in contact with others and share your tech questions, queries or advice then why not join Anna & Ellie on our Tech Tribe WhatsApp group chat? Please still register below to find out more.

Venue

This meeting will be held online via Zoom.

Please note that this meeting will be recorded and the audio only uploaded to our You Tube channel so please do not share any personal contact information. However, please feel free to share your experiences living with sight loss but only if you feel comfortable in doing so and remember that others outside of this meeting will be able to hear it on this public platform.