CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND—Spectral Edged announced that it is working with Colour Blind Awareness, an organization that raises the awareness of the needs of the color blind, to trial its new image-enhancement technology, EyeTeq.
EyeTeq uses mathematical perception models to modify image colors so that color blind observers enjoy improved visibility, while at the same time minimizing the strength of the effect for those who do not have color blindness, or “color normal.”
Following a successful psychophysical study on a representative sample, Spectral Edge is now bringing EyeTeq into living rooms and applying it to mainstream TV content. Spectral Edge will now be able to gather direct feedback on the experience for color blind viewers as well as color normals. Expertise from Colour Blind Awareness will contribute to a successful trial and eventually result in consumer electronics companies delivering devices that are more color-blind friendly.
Colour blindness affects approximately one in 12 men (8 percent) and one in 200 women around the world. In the United Kingdom, there are approximately 2.7 million color blind people (about 4.5 percent of the entire population).
Applicable to both still pictures and video, Eyeteq enhances images so that color blind observers can see details they previously could not. It does this without negatively affecting the picture for color normal.
An Eyeteq viewer app for iOS and Android will shortly be available for demonstrations. Trials using a set-top box with Eyeteq integrated are planned for the autumn. Results are expected in six to nine months and will be made available to drive wider adoption of the technology.
