Virtual technologies aid in restoring sight to the blind.

Abstract

Virtual technologies, and the novel approaches taken in their design, promise to enable a new field of image processing applications often referred to as "Artificial Vision." In this chapter, we present the concepts encompassed under this terminology, introduce three areas of application—with strong em- phasis on the rehabilitation of blind and visually impaired individuals—, sum- marize in general terms their current status, and sketch a road map for their de- velopments in the foreseeable future.