Blindness

New system allows robots to continuously map their environmentAlgorithm to build 3-D maps requires a low-cost camera, no human input.

‘Radar for the human eye’Inexpensive hand-held device developed at MIT could detect cataracts even at the earliest stages.

Seeing the lightOptogenetic technology restores visual behavior in mice, holds promise for treating human blindness.

Shedding light on a longstanding puzzleStudy of blind children in India helps answer a 300-year-old philosophical question.

Parts of brain can switch functionsIn people born blind, brain regions that usually process vision can tackle language.

Younger brains are easier to rewireStudy of blind patients supports the idea that there is a period early in a person’s development when brain regions can switch functions.

In the World: Easy on the eyesSimple, low-cost device that affixes to a cell phone could provide quick eye tests throughout the developing world.

Stimulating sightLed by electrical engineering professor John Wyatt, team develops retinal implant that could help restore useful level of vision to certain groups of blind people