Artificial intelligence will allow the visually impaired and the blind to run independently.
The system is being tested by Google, to guide the user will be an app that transforms the smartphone and a wearable device into a sort of eye and ear that guides the path, together with a harness and headphones Project Guideline, so it is called , is an early stage research program.
To use the system, the runner must connect an Android phone to a Google-designed harness that goes around the waist.
The Project Guideline app then uses the phone's camera to track the route.
The app sends audio signals to the bone conduction headphones (they vibrate in a part near the ear): when a runner moves away from the established path the sound will become louder.
The app does not require an internet connection and can take into account a variety of weather and lighting conditions.
Google developed the system with the help of Thomas Panek, president and CEO of Guiding Eyes for the Blind and passionate runner.
It is not the first time that the technological giant has developed systems that help some disabilities.
The latest in chronological order is Lookout, an application that allows people with visual impairments to experience everyday life with greater autonomy thanks to artificial intelligence and voice description.