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Gift of vision

Israeli tech for the Outback

Israeli embassy gives a gift of vision to Indigenous communities

By SIGMUND STERN February 10, 2022, 9:00 am Edit
Pictured from left: Vision Store service coordinator Peter Montgomery, Vision Australia general manager, commercial services Michael Linke, Israeli Ambassador Amir Maimon and Israeli Deputy Chief of Mission Ron Gerstenfeld.
Pictured from left: Vision Store service coordinator Peter Montgomery, Vision Australia general manager, commercial services Michael Linke, Israeli Ambassador Amir Maimon and Israeli Deputy Chief of Mission Ron Gerstenfeld.

Indigenous health centres in the remote Northern Territory are set to receive a high-tech gift from the Israeli Embassy, in the form of five MyEye devices donated via Vision Australia.

Built by Israeli company OrCam Technologies, the MyEye is designed to help people who are blind or have other visual or reading impairments, such as dyslexia.

The AI-powered device attaches magnetically to glasses, answers spoken questions and describes aloud what it sees—from text on a page, to whether there is a person in the room ahead.

It can work without an Internet connection—a particular asset given a 2021 report estimated that 25,000 NT residents still did not have Internet or mobile access and many more had only 3G or intermittent connections at best.

Meanwhile, led by Australian Chief Medical Officer Prof Paul Kelly and head of International Relations at Israel’s Ministry of Health Dr Asher Salmon, senior Australian and Israeli health officials met on Monday as part of a continuing dialogue on COVID-19.

 

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