Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a donation program to provide Ray-Ban Meta AI smart glasses to every blind veteran in the United States. The initiative is being carried out in partnership with the Blinded Veterans Association and other organizations.

Empowering Independence

The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses combine classic design with built-in cameras, open-ear speakers, microphones, and Meta AI. Users can issue voice commands to receive real-time descriptions of their surroundings, read text from documents or menus, identify objects, answer calls, and take photos or videos hands-free.

The donation program seeks to provide hands-free AI assistance to help veterans navigate daily life more independently. More than 130,000 American veterans are legally blind, according to data referenced by Meta and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The announcement was inspired in part by U.S. Army veteran Don Overton, who lost his eyesight in Desert Storm. Overton stated that the moment he put on his Ray-Ban Meta glasses, he got his independence back.

The Blinded Veterans Association will provide training, including monthly webinars, in-person events, and a dedicated guide. Applications are open at bva.org/glasses. Veteran organizations can also apply through TechSoup.

Original reporting: The Dallas Express — read the source article.