112 – Brian Mech and Yvonne Felix of eSight – Seeing the Future

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Restoring vision with wearable technology …

Brian Mech, CEO (bio) of eSight Corporation (a company producing electronic glasses which can restore vision) and Yvonne Felix (bio), Access and Community Development for eSight and an artist, join Marc Raco and Rob Sanchez at The 2016 Smithers Apex WEAR Conference in Boston, MA.

How it works, what is possible, and what’s next

Mech covers the genesis of eSight and what the company does, how vision restoration can change lives, and the wide range of sight-loss which can be addressed by eSight. Reducing the motion-to-photon lag time common in VR and AR, steering images to portions of the retina that were healthy and why that’s not needed. How losing a sense recruits part of the cortex to do other things and augments other senses, similarities to connecting with a Cochlear implant, where eSight is trying to take the product.

When to release, wearables for good and Jules Vern

Thoughts on timing a product release within a development process, and consideration for using the eSight electronic glasses technology for other applications, why eSight is at the Wear Conference, their place as “wearables for good”, and how users can “tune” themselves. Off the Grid Questions cover Jules Vern, eight grade, Stephen King and loving your work.

Yvonne, Stargardt Disease, and discoveries

How Yvonne Felix hounded eSight to be a part of the team, being an artist and arts educator with sight loss, how getting hit by a car at 7 years old changed her life, the meaning of April 23, 2012, how eSight changed the way she experiences the world, and the way vision technology can transform many lives, communication, goals and possibilities. Felix shares how she lived in irrational place, gaging emotions, the way restoring sight made her become a physical being, what it meant to really see her family’s faces for the first time, how her reactions to eSight related to those of others she’s observed, how our physiology changes when seeing smiles and with visual interaction, the new contexts it brings on the world, and the new ways she can help.

The Mind’s eye, new data, and new experiences

Felix relates how she has become a person who can now help others by sharing her story, how her art changed and translating to the physical works changes, and about rebuilding one’s mind’s eye. Marc hits the nail on the head when talking about about his own hearing loss and the significant impact of correction the loss of a sense and responsibility that goes with it. Felix touches in how she no longer has a need to pretend, and about learning the way people communicate for the first time, getting new data, how the inner world changes and form transcends biology, and learning to listen and look at the same time.