Meta launched an initiative earlier this year to donate 130,000 pairs of its Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses to blind and low-vision U.S. veterans to honor their service.
The initiative came to the University on Oct. 27, when several veterans received the free AI-powered glasses and hands-on training at the Dell Campus for Advanced Research. The event was facilitated through a partnership between Meta, East Texas Lighthouse for the Blind, the Texas Technology Access Program at UT, the Blinded Veterans Association and Austin Lighthouse for the Blind.
“We really saw the value in making the event not just about walking in the door and getting the technology and getting the training, but also having the opportunity to connect that low-vision veteran to other resources as well,” said Alicia Lansford, vice president and chief mission officer for East Texas Lighthouse.
Lansford said she partnered with the Texas Technology Access Program because of its established connections in Austin and shared interest in expanding outreach to veterans.
The program is federally funded through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Although housed at UT, the program serves all Texas residents with disabilities and their caregivers, Angela Standridge, director of the Texas Technology Access Program, said.
“Our mission is to use technology to enable people to do what they want to do,” Standridge said. “That might be (to) live independently … go to school … go to work. It might be just engaging in their community in whatever way that they feel is appropriate for them.”
Standridge said the glasses can help visually impaired users recognize people in their environments, call their loved ones and organize their belongings.
Among the veterans who received glasses was David Manning, whose daughter, Sara Vandegrift, works as a project manager at the Institute for Military and Veteran Family Wellness at UT. After seeing advertisements for the initiative, Vandegrift registered her father, who has macular degeneration, an eye condition that affects central vision.
“He’s been through a lot, and so have a lot of veterans, but he’s the one I know best,” Vandegrift said. “I don’t think veterans get thanked enough.”
Vandegrift said she hopes the glasses will help her father maintain his independence as his vision worsens, especially by letting him read menus and stay connected with family through text messages.
“Staying in communication is gonna be really helpful,” Vandegrift said. “Staying in touch with his kids and grandkids, they’re going to be really helpful.”
