Photos: New forehead glasses help blind people navigate without guide dogs

The assistive technology startup .lumen is set to unveil innovative forehead-worn glasses at CES 2026 that help blind people navigate independently without guide dogs. These glasses combine cameras, sensors, artificial intelligence, and robotics to create a “virtual guide dog” experience. By continuously scanning and building a 3D map of the user’s surroundings—including walls, doors, stairs, sidewalks, and moving objects—the device provides real-time navigation support. It tracks both the user’s movement and environmental changes, dynamically adjusting guidance to ensure safe travel through streets, buildings, and public spaces. The glasses use haptic feedback via vibrations on the forehead to replace the traditional leash signals from guide dogs, directing users to turn or proceed safely. They also incorporate sound cues to enhance spatial awareness. The AI processes environmental data over 100 times per second to rapidly identify safe paths and hazards, such as traffic or stairs. Designed to be scalable and more affordable than guide dogs—which are limited in number and costly to train—the