The Mozambican student creating a visual world for the blind with tech
After witnessing a blind woman fall in traffic years ago, his passion was ignited, one that will push him to build an innovative device to change the world.
Today, Joao Antonio Rego, a 24-year-old robotics and electronics student, is building smart glasses to help visually impaired people move around more safely and freely.
Working from his family’s dining room in Matola, near Maputo, Rego’s invention uses sensors to detect obstacles and warn users through vibrations.
His Vision Hope smart glasses are being tested by people like Armando Ernesto Chau, a 45-year-old father who lost his sight two decades ago.
Chau says the device helps him avoid danger and could allow him to leave home without relying on others.
The latest version of the glasses has a wider field of detection, improved battery life, and GPS tracking to help families keep in touch with users.
Rego is already planning new features like waterproofing and sensors that can spot thin wires or small puddles, details that matter in everyday life.
For people like Chau, it’s more than a tool, its also a chance to reclaim independence.
“If the glasses are made the way I suggest, it will help us a lot, me and many other visually impaired people out there,” Chau told the AFP.
His goal is to partner with companies that can help him produce the glasses for use across Mozambique, where millions live with vision loss.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
