In this latest blog entry by Philips Lauren Spinella, LED devices take on the task of aiding the visually impaired.

Catherine Rose is a senior product manager at Philips Color Kinetics, and the mother of Alexis, a visually impaired child. Rose brought Alexis to the Philips Color Kinetics showroom to see if she would respond to the color-changing LED lights installed there. Alexis, who is deafblind, was captivated by them, and Rose realized that vibrant lights may be the key to her daughter’s educational success.

Rose proposed the idea of LightAide, an affordable product that would be a step up from the technologies currently used in schools. LightAide is fun for children to look at, and comes with a variety of learning activities, ranging from color identification to basic math skills.

A visually impaired girl learnign with LightAide. (Philips/LEDinside)

The LightAide is a portable device that includes 224 multicolored LED lights  and oversized switch buttons  manageable for little hands with limited motor skills. A control panel on the side enables teachers to choose from a variety of educational activities. Based on the needs of the learner who is using LightAide, it offers a range of viewing options that are accomplished through the use of different lenses.

Prototypes were tested by Alexis and other students at Perkins School for the Blind. The product launched in September 2013, and it’s already had a major impact on children with vision issues. WonderBaby, an online resource for parents of children with visual impairments and multiple disabilities, partnered with Perkins Products to create the Lily LightAide Backpacking Program. Six families entered to win a LightAide after having their child use one for two weeks. People around the world voted, and a lucky family was chosen to take a LightAide home for good. Philips made sure that the other families did not walk away empty-handed. They cut the cost of additional LightAide products in half, and initiated fundraisers that raised more than enough money to assure that each family was able to keep a LightAide of their own.

LightAide has the potential to allow the estimated 7 million people around the globe who are battling vision impairment disabilities to become more visually capable and more engaged in today’s society.

Top: A visually impaired boy learning with LightAide. Bottom: A girl using LightAide.

Earlier this year, LightAide was nominated for an Edison Award, which honors innovations and inventors. Rose was excited to hear of the nomination, but she is even more satisfied that there is now a product that can help children like Alexis reach their full learning potential.

“The engineer in me is happy about the nomination, but the mom in me is thrilled that I was able to build and craft a product for my daughter and children like her. That is just as rewarding,” said Rose.

Philips is proud that LightAide received a 2014 Edison Award in San Francisco, last April. LightAide won the Silver in the Learning Support & Behavior.