In short:
A legally blind woman says she may never need a guide dog again due to her smart glasses.
uncertain
she → say → glasses
She is calling for more education around the technology, as she says she is often accused of filming people in public.
What's next?
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What → call → public
A Guide Dogs Victoria spokesperson says smart glasses will not replace guide dogs in the foreseeable future, but will work well together.
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glasses → say → future
For the past 16 years, Ms Biggin, who lives in Ballarat, has not been able to do regular things like cross a road or get groceries without the help of a guide dog.
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who → live → dog
But everything changed for the mother of three when she got her first pair of smart glasses.
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she → change → glasses
She said she did not think she would ever get a guide dog again.
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she → say → dog
'Regular person in a regular shop'
Ms Biggin said AI glasses had given her independence she never imagined she could have.
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she → say → independence
"I've had [the glasses] for about six months now and I've had my [current] guide dog for about four years," Ms Biggin said.
"
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Biggin → have → years
I'd go as far as to say I wouldn't get another guide dog because of these AI glasses."
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I → go → glasses
She said she felt like a "regular person in a regular shop" because of the glasses.
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she → say → glasses
"I say, 'Hey Meta, look and tell what section of Kmart I'm in,'" Ms Biggin explained.
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Biggin → say → Kmart
"And it'll come back straight into my ear, 'You seem to be in the women's section.
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You → come → section
To the left of you is the register and behind you seems to be the entrance.'
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entrance → seem → you
She said when she was in public with her guide dog and three young children, she felt like she stood out, often being hounded with questions.
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she → say → questions
"But when I've got my glasses, I can just blend in," she said.
"
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she → get → glasses
My twin nine-year-old boys have their athletics carnival next week and I'm going to the shops to buy them a blue top for their athletics day.
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I → have → day
"I'll be able to do that completely myself.
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I → do → that
"
Accused of filming
But the glasses are not without their problems.
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glasses → accuse → problems
Ms Biggin said she got stopped at least three times a week by people accusing her of filming them.
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she → say → them
"Halfway through the walk I'll have somebody grab me on the arm and say, 'Oi, you just filmed me,' because [the glasses] light up when they're in use," she said.
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she → have → use
"People automatically assume I'm recording them.
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I → assume → them
It gets exhausting having to explain every time."
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It → get → time
She said people should educate themselves about how smart glasses could work to de-stigmatise wearers amid all the "pervert glasses" rhetoric.
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glasses → say → rhetoric
"I don't look blind … [but] I also don't want to wear a big badge that says, 'I'm blind please be nice to me,'" she said.
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she → look → me
She also expressed concern over a ban on smart glasses in Victorian schools, starting from term one next year.
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She → express → term
Ms Biggin, who is an inclusion coach who often works in schools, said there was not enough information on how an exemption could be obtained.
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exemption → work → schools
"They said there's exemptions but they haven't listed what and how you get exemptions," she said.
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she → say → exemptions
"Whether it's a doctor's certificate, a working with children's check or a letter from your employee, we don't know what it looks like.
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it → work → what
"As of now, I cannot perform my job wearing AI glasses within schools as of term one.
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I → perform → term
"I don't think they've taken into account that people are using them for legitimate reasons.
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people → think → reasons
"
Will guide dogs become redundant?
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dogs → become → ?
In Victoria, it takes nearly two years and more than $50,000 to breed, raise, and train a guide dog — a cost that is covered by government schemes for clients.
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that → take → clients
While smart glasses are proving helpful for people like Ms Biggin, Guide Dogs Victoria state partnership coordinator Erin Goedhart says seeing eye dogs are irreplaceable.
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dogs → prove → Biggin
"Your primary mobility aid as someone who is blind or low vision should always be a guide dog or white cane," she said.
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she → say → someone
Ms Goedhart is vision-impaired herself and has used both guide dogs and smart glasses.
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Goedhart → impair → dogs
"I'm in-between dogs at the moment, so I'm using a cane as my primary mobility aid at the moment," Ms Goedhart said.
"
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Goedhart → use → moment
There is absolutely no way I could get from A to B, with the glasses and not a mobility aid as well.
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I → be → glasses
"At this stage I can't see guide dogs or white canes being replaced anytime soon.
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dogs → see → stage
"In 50 years' time when technology is doing who knows what, let's have another conversation."
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's → do → conversation
The Aporia