Ally Solos: These Smart Glasses Use AI to Help Low-vision Users See the World Around Them

Artificial intelligence is not only transforming businesses and bringing comfort, but now, it is also changing the lives of people. A pair of smart glasses is reportedly attracting all the eyes, which are designed specially for blind and low-vision users.

The innovation is introduced by Envision, a startup founded by Karthik Mahadevan, who is also the CEO of the company, and Karthik Kannan, who plays the role of CTO. Khannan and Mahadevan have completed their graduation at the College of Engineering. Mahadevan also pursued a master’s degree in Industrial and Product Design from Delft University of Technology. Envision partnered with the famous eyewear brand Solos to design a pair of smart glasses that could help low-powered or blind people regain their sight, but in a different way.

All new Dubbed Ally Solos Glasses can read texts, perform web searches, describe the environment, and even accurately recognize objects, people, and signs. At the same time, it can also interact with the users through the built-in speakers. The same frame has been used to manufacture the glasses, which were incorporated in AirGo Vision Glasses that were launched by Solo last December. The previous glasses consisted of multimodal AI and a ChatGPT-powered voice assistant.

The big difference that can be witnessed in the newer version is that the latest model consists the Envision’s own AI assistant named “Ally” instead of GPT-4o. This AI assistant is supported by different foundational AI models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Meta’s Llama, Perplexit, and Gemini.

The innovative product has 2K resolution camera sensors, which allow it to process visual information and connect with iOS and Android via the Ally app. Also, the pair of glasses consists of a USB-C chargeable system that offers 16 hours of active use on a single charge. P67 rating of the glasses offers protection from water and dust. The device can be fully charged in 90 minutes, while a 15-minute fast charge offers three hours of battery life.

According to the brand, the built-in camera in the devices “sees for you”, allowing the user to read texts, recognize people or objects, and communicate with you via voice spoken commands. The glasses are primarily designed for the blind or visually-challenged people. However, it can be used by anyone to access features like language translations, documentation capturing, and more.

Ally Solos Glasses are now available for pre-orders at a launch price of $399, offering a good discount from the regular price of $699. Currently, the frame is available in two different sizes, viz. Regular and large. Users can choose the color options in black, brown, and gray. The shipping for the orders is expected to begin in October 2025.

It can be observed that most of the tech giants are in the race to introduce accessibility technology, either by directly launching a product or making improvements in their existing devices. For instance, Apple offers the Live Speech feature that can be used by user to type anything they want to say and then have it spoken aloud on their various Apple products. Similarly, the Eye Tracking feature in iPhone and iPad allows people to control their devices with their eyes.

Similarly, Google is offering features like Guided Frame that allow blind or weak-visioned people to take good photographs via haptic cues or audio. Another feature is Lookout, which helps in identifying objects as well as generating in-depth image descriptions.

Ray-Ban is also helping blind people navigate their way with ease by using the smart glasses.