{"id":400791,"date":"2026-08-08T01:54:24","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:54:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/400791\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:54:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:54:24","slug":"east-texas-lighthouse-for-the-blind-to-give-away-200-ai-powered-glasses-to-veterans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/400791\/","title":{"rendered":"East Texas Lighthouse for the Blind to give away 200 AI-powered glasses to veterans"},"content":{"rendered":"

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) – The East Texas Lighthouse for the Blind in Tyler is working to give away AI-powered smart glasses to eligible veterans across the region. <\/p>\n

The organization is teaming with Meta, the Blinded Veterans Association and CampV to provide the glasses for blind and visually impaired veterans. <\/p>\n

\u201cEssentially, they are a wearable AI device,\u201d East Texas Lighthouse for the Blind Vice President Alicia Lansford said, noting the glasses connect to a device like a phone. \u201cWhat the meta glasses do is it empowers somebody who\u2019s blind or visually impaired to not even have to really pull their phone out.\u201d<\/p>\n

The wearer can then ask the meta glasses questions about their surroundings. <\/p>\n

\u201cI could ask what you look like. I could ask what\u2019s in this room? I could ask it to scour a website for something. I could ask it to read a menu,\u201d Lansford described. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat they really do is just they take that camera, whether it\u2019s a photo or whether it\u2019s a video, and they just describe it to the person and they\u2019re not really even built for people that are blind or visually impaired, it\u2019s just really become a great avenue for them as a technology and AI really improves.\u201d<\/p>\n

CampV will act as the validator to those who qualify to receive a pair, but anyone with any level of vision loss can apply. Applicants are asked to provide their DD 214 or a valid VA medical card. <\/p>\n

Mark Shaw, the community engagement manager for CampV, gave his own approval.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to say they\u2019re comfortable. You know, they\u2019re stylish, right? I mean, they come with a neutral color. They blend with my shirt. What can I say?\u201d<\/p>\n

Veterans with any level of visual impairment or blindness can qualify even if it is not related to their service. <\/p>\n

\u201cI need everybody to know service-related is not a requirement on this one. If it\u2019s any veteran out there, you need to please get them in touch with us so they can get a free pair of glasses so they can get a better quality of life,\u201d Shaw said. <\/p>\n

The giveaway will take place Aug. 20 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the East Texas Lighthouse for the Blind. In order to receive a pair, you must first fill out an application found here<\/a>. Those who qualify will later receive a call with more information. <\/p>\n

\u201cMeta is actually going to be there themselves. And veterans will stay as long as they need to to get their comfort. We don\u2019t want it to be technology that goes home and sits on the shelf,\u201d Lansford said.<\/p>\n

For those with questions or concerns about the glasses, Lansford said a demo pair is available at the lighthouse store to try on. <\/p>\n

\u201cI would say always be curious, right. We are absolutely open for those conversations,\u201d Lansford said. \u201cIf somebody wants to swing by one day and they want to look and feel in touch before they commit to the application, that is perfectly fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 KLTV. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TYLER, Texas (KLTV) – The East Texas Lighthouse for the Blind in Tyler is working to give away…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":400792,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[4267,140642,140644,140645,140643,140641,5403,27,29,28],"class_list":["post-400791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-ai","tag-ai-powered-glasses-for-blind","tag-blinded-veterans-association","tag-camp-v","tag-east-texas-blind-resources","tag-east-texas-lighthouse-for-the-blind","tag-meta","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=400791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400791\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/400792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=400791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=400791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=400791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}