Israeli company ICI Vision has developed digital eyewear with the potential to give millions of legally blind people the ability to see.

The company’s Orama high-tech glasses are the brainchild of Haim Chayet, an Israeli optic physicist who was originally creating augmented-reality goggles for motorcyclists.

Working alongside a friend who had damaged vision due to a scar on his eye, Chayet realized the technology would have greater impact as an assistive device for many people experiencing vision impairment. Joining forces with two partners in the field and top Israeli eye doctors in an advisory capacity, he launched ICI Vision in 2014.

“We approached the technology from the perspective of helping the millions of people with vision problems enjoy a new lease on life and maintain their independence,” CEO Tal Lotan tells ISRAEL21c.

Globally, 340 million people have impaired or complete loss of vision due to macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy and other retinal diseases, resulting in direct annual treatment costs of $157 billion in the US last year.