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Lépine 2024 competition: an invention designed to give autonomy to the visually impaired has won an award
Lépine 2024 competition: an invention designed to give autonomy to the visually impaired has won an award
(franceinfo)
As every year, the Lépine competition this year distinguished the invention deemed the most useful and relevant. For this edition, a prototype allowing the visually impaired to better position themselves and gain autonomy was rewarded.
You have to follow an inventor to perceive the revolution to come. Rémi du Chalard won the Lépine 2024 competition. He helps the visually impaired. On a phone screen, we see the image perceived by their brain thanks to a sensor placed on glasses, connected to a belt. “The belt will draw images on the skin of the back. They are full of little pins which will play on the sense of touch to transmit images“, he explained.
Improve everyday life
A visually impaired young man tested the prototype and, for him, it was the promise of regained autonomy, without a white cane. “When there were people coming out of a building, I was able to stop for them to pass, so it’s great“, he rejoiced. Already in 1953, the inventors of the competition were concerned about the fate of the visually impaired. Another recurring concern for more than 100 years: getting around on two wheels with the least effort. The Lépine competition represents the hope, for each of the inventors, of improving everyday life.
