There are around 285 million visually impaired people in the world. For example, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the most important visual diseases in occidental countries. The World Health Organization predicts that AMD will become a major health risk, and encourages development of tools to confront it.

So far, the only primary aids offered to visually impaired people for independent mobility are canes and guide dogs. Over the years, many research teams have proposed more advanced assistive technologies or solutions to compensate for vision impairment. But only a few studies have been conducted on wearable systems that exploit residual vision to assist mobility for visually impaired people, even though low-vision experts agree that it is important to stimulate residual vision early in the sight-loss process.

LASTER Technologies has studied the needs of visually impaired people and how they could interact with a new electronic device. Omnivisio is the first prototype of a solution that includes a high-powered embedded computer, a high-definition camera, and binocular, true optical-see-through eyewear.