Meta offers AI glasses to blind veterans; Kern County vets can apply
Meta is donating Ray-Ban smart glasses to blind veterans nationwide through the Blinded Veterans Association, with a goal of reaching about 130,000 people.
Meta offers AI glasses to blind veterans; Kern County vets can apply
Key Takeaways
- Meta is donating Ray-Ban smart glasses to blind veterans nationwide through the Blinded Veterans Association.
- The program targets about 130,000 blind veterans across the U.S.
- 23ABC reported no blind veterans identified in Kern County yet, but local vets can still apply.
- Features include on-glasses captions, a small display, and a conversation focus mode.
- Nonprofits can request bulk donations and provide training and distribution.
"Blind folks are using these glasses to read menus at a restaurant," said Katie Jordan, a product strategy and governance policy manager at Meta. The company is donating AI-enabled Ray-Ban smart glasses to blind veterans across the country, a push Jordan said could reach roughly 130,000 people. There aren’t any blind veterans identified in Kern County yet, according to 23ABC, but the program is open to Bakersfield-area vets and the groups that serve them.
What the glasses can do
Meta’s current model adds tools that matter in noisy, real life settings. The glasses can provide live captions for conversations and a conversation focus mode that locks in on one voice in a crowded room, then plays it through speakers in the arms. There is a small display in the lower right corner of the wearer’s view. The system can read mail, describe a room, and help with everyday things like checking a text.
Jordan described an airport scenario to make the point. A traveler can feel their way through a terminal with a cane or a guide dog, but still needs help finding the right gate or a restroom. The glasses can answer those specific questions, she said.
Who qualifies and how to sign up
Meta is routing donations through the Blinded Veterans Association and partner nonprofits. Those groups can apply for bulk allocations, then handle training and handoff to veterans. Individual veterans can start on the BVA website to learn eligibility, join the association, or connect with a partner group. Meta plans in-person distribution and training events in the coming weeks and months, Jordan said. The app Be My Eyes now works with the glasses to connect sighted volunteers for on-the-spot assistance with tasks that are easier with a helper.
Partners already involved include National Industries for the Blind, Oscar Mike, Lighthouse Guild, the American Council for the Blind, Homes for Our Troops and Tunnel to Towers. The company said interest now includes eye doctors asking whether the devices could help low-vision patients outside the veteran community.
What it means for Kern County
For now, not in Kern. That’s what the station heard this week, but the door is open. Bakersfield veterans with vision loss can apply through BVA and ask that training and distribution events include Kern County. Local nonprofits that work with veterans can also request allocations and build a training plan so the rollout here isn’t an afterthought.
Jordan credited Meta’s leadership for pushing the effort internally and said the software kit opened to outside developers only recently, which is why features are multiplying. "We are hearing from folks who are learning about resources for blinded veterans for the very first time and getting care for the first time," she said.
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