Glasses have been passively correcting human vision for centuries, using tricks of light to compensate for various visual impairments. But there are some conditions--like age-related macular degeneration--that simple lenses can’t correct. So Oxford University researchers are getting proactive with a pair of frames packed with technologies usually found in gaming consoles and smartphones to give greater independence and self sufficiency to those suffering from more serious optical ailments.

Our smartphones contain all kinds of cool tech that is cheap, easy to come by, and usually wasted on snapping and sharing pics of our cats doing cute things. Likewise, peripherals like our gaming controllers and the Kinect pack all kinds of cheap and powerful sensor tech.

The Oxford researchers thought they could get more productive mileage out of implements like tiny cameras, position detectors, depth sensors, and facial recognition and tracking software by packing it into a pair of specs that can help visually impaired people function again.