Your weekly dose of the latest in accessible tech
Welcome to #TopTechTuesday which is our weekly social media series where we spotlight the latest developments in technology that can benefit people living with inherited sight loss. From accessible apps and software updates to cutting-edge assistive devices, we keep you up to date with what’s new.
Each week’s post is shared across our social media channels and collected here so you can explore them all in one place. You will find soundbites for each product below.
Check back regularly for the newest updates.
Launching 20 June 2025, these sleek specs combine style with smart features, including:
Starting from$499 USD, with the rest of the collection starting at $399 USD (£ TBC)
Meet Robbie the RoboGuide: a four‑legged robot “guide dog” powered by 5G and advanced sensors, it has been designed to support blind and partially sighted users .
The Robo-Guide which will be used for indoor navigation such a museums, shopping centres and airports. This mobility tech is being developed by the James Watt School of Engineering at the University of Glasgow, supported by the V.I community from RNIB Scotland and The Forth Valley Sensory Centre.
At a recent ‘Talking’ Home & Garden peer support group meeting we discussed how to make your home both smarter and safer using your home smart assistant.
Please find sound bites below where you will find the top 10 Accessibility features for both Google home assistant products.
At a recent ‘Talking’ Home & Garden peer support group meeting we discussed how to make your home both smarter and safer using your home smart assistant.
Please find sound bites below where you will find the top 10 Accessibility features for Amazon Alexa smart assistant products.
Meet Wayve, a London-based startup that’s redefining autonomous driving with “embodied AI” – a smart system that learns from human behaviour rather than relying on detailed maps. The goal is safer, smarter, more adaptable self-driving vehicles that can handle real-world unpredictability.
For those who are blind or partially sighted, this tech could mean truly independent travel, without the usual barriers and frustrations of public transport.
Wayve has already raised over $1 billion (led by SoftBank) and is partnering with Uber to trial these vehicles across London by 2026. A step closer to inclusive, accessible mobility for all.
This weeks Top Tech comes from assistive tech company Glidance who are based in Seattle, USA, who have developed the Glide device.
Glide is an innovative AI-powered mobility aid designed for individuals who are blind or have low vision, providing autonomous navigation and obstacle avoidance. Using advanced sensors and AI, it intelligently steers users along safe paths, identifies landmarks like doors and stairs, and offers real-time environmental descriptions, aiming to enhance independence and confidence in navigating both indoor and outdoor spaces.
This week we bring you VoiceVista, a powerful, free iPhone app transforming navigation for people with vision impairment. Using immersive 3D audio cues and accurate location services, it helps users explore their surroundings with confidence. It allows users to set markers, create routes, and receive real-time information about their location and nearby points of interest.
This weeks #TopTechTuesday is a futuristic piece of technology that will change the way that the V.I community live their lives from household chores to assisting with shopping and sighted guiding – manufactured by the car giant Tesla.
Tesla’s Optimus Gen 3 is a humanoid robot designed to perform dangerous, repetitive, or boring tasks, with a strong focus on improved dexterity, autonomy, and affordability. Key advancements include enhanced AI-driven neural networks for adaptability in complex environments, advanced hands with 22 degrees of freedom for intricate tasks, and a more lightweight design. Elon Musk claims it will have human-like flexibility and envisions it performing household chores, caregiving, and even industrial tasks. Tesla aims for mass production of Gen 3 by early 2026, with a projected starting price around $15,989-$18,999 for a base model.
Today’s #TopTechTuesday features the latest wearables from Samsung.
Introducing the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 and Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic which were released in July 2025; alongside the Watch 8 series Samsung also released the updated version of the Galaxy Watch Ultra in July 2025.
Check out the below link to hear more information about these smart watches, their specs and health and activity features.
For this week’s #TopTechTuesday we are sharing a sneaky teaser of a new pair of smart glasses that have caught our attention.
First are the latest from Meta called Hypernova, which appear to be a considerable upgrade to the already available Meta Ray Bans.
Check out the sound bite with what to expect from these next generation smart glasses.
For this week’s #TopTechTuesday we are sharing another sneaky teaser of a new pair of smart glasses that have caught our attention.
Next are the Luna Glasses designed by Dutch startup company Angstone to assist those with night blindness.
The below sound bite explains a little more about this remarkable tech which can improve vision in the dark and dim conditions.
For this week’s #TopTechTuesday we are sharing another sneaky teaser of a new pair of smart glasses that have caught our attention.
The third in this triple bill are the latest creation from EnVision called Ally Solos which combine the AI software from EnVision called Ally, which can also be downloaded as a smart phone app assistant with the stylish smart glasses from Solos.
Here’s what Google Gemini can share about this new assistive tech which is now available to pre-order from EnVision.
Today’s #TopTechTuesday is a remarkable new navigational app in development called Navis.
TouchPulse is developing Navis, an A.I-powered navigation app for the blind and visually impaired that provides precise, real-time, personalised, step-by-step voice and haptic guidance for independent travel.
Here’s a sound bite from Google Gemini with an in-depth overview of this innovative app for the visually impaired to assist with mobility & independence:
With the sun lower in the sky, bright crisp mornings and colourful autumn sunsets, today’s #TopTechTuesday focuses on smart sunglasses from Chamelo who use an innovative lens technology to rapidly change colour and tint of their lenses with the touch of a button.
Chamelo (often stylized as Chamelo, not Chameleon) is a smart eyewear company known for its electrochromic lenses that can instantly change tint or colour at the touch of a button or automatically. Their products focus on practical, customisable features like light adjustment and integrated audio.
Listen to a summary of this product below:
The world of smart glasses for the visually impaired, which are driven by A.I to assist with seeing and navigating differently are paving the way and the below Smart Glasses in this edition of #TopTechTuesday are no exception.
AGIGA’s EchoVision smart glasses are an A.I-powered assistive device for the blind and low-vision community, offering features like scene description, text reading (OCR), facial recognition, and hands-free integration with remote assistance services like Aira and Be My Eyes.
Listen to the following soundbite for an overview of these glasses:
Introducing SightPlus which is a headset developed by technology company Give Vision to enhance the viewing experience for those who are living with visual impairments at live events across the UK.
GiveVision is a not-for-dividend company dedicated to creating assistive technologies for people with severe sight impairments. Their SightPlus headset is a wearable, augmented reality (AR) device which functions as an advanced digital magnifier and binoculars. For sporting and live events, the SightPlus streams real-time, low-latency live camera footage (often powered by a private 5G network) to the user’s eye. The software enhances the image with adjustable zoom, contrast and brightness, enabling users to see the action clearly and in sync with the crowd.
Here’s what Eve, our Research Coordinator, had to say about her experience:
“Before I put the headset on, I didn’t even know where the stage was… and then I was speechless. It just gave me that bit of independence back.”
Check out the below soundbite for an overview of this innovative V.I tech:
Today’s #TopTechTuesday is from a UK based startup in Northampton called Mavis Technologies and their product called Aura.
Mavis Technologies, a Northampton-based startup, develops smart glasses for the visually impaired and blind. Their product, Aura, is a pair of AI-powered smart glasses that offer obstacle detection, text recognition, navigation, voice assistance, and real-time alerts to enhance independence.
Head to sound bite below website to hear some more information about Mavis & Aura:
Today’s #TopTechTuesday is a new easy to use smart phone for the visually impaired which has landed in the UK all the way from Australia.
Check out Google Gemini’s soundbite below for a full overview of the Big Purple Phone.
For more information on this product, you can visit the Sight and Sound website: https://www.sightandsound.co.uk/product/big-purple-phone-silverfox-edition/
Our next #TopTechTuesday features a remarkable new navigational device that is worn inside the shoe that vibrates to support a user when walking via haptic feedback through the feet.
Ashirase is a Japanese startup that has developed a shoe-mounted navigation system for the visually impaired. It uses haptic feedback (vibrations) to provide directions: front for forward, sides for turns, and full vibrations to stop. The device is hands-free and ears-free, allowing users to stay aware of their surroundings. It retails for approximately 54,000 yen and expanded to international markets like the UK in 2025.
Check out the below Google Gemini sound bite.
Another innovative device from the world of navigational technology for the visually impaired, this week comes from a company called Hope Tech.
Their Sixth Sense device identifies objects up to 3 meters away that traditional canes might miss, using sonar, echolocation and computer vision. It pairs with a mobile app for turn-by-turn GPS voice guidance and is designed to look like headphones to reduce social stigma. The device also has a built-in microphone for hands-free phone interaction and location updates.
Check out the below Google Gemini Sound bite for an overview.
You can also see a video of this device being demonstrated on the Hope Tech website: https://www.hopetech.vision/
