BLIND people in Oxfordshire have welcomed the development of high-tech “super specs” for the visually impaired.

The glasses are being developed in Oxford and could replace white canes and guide dogs within two years.

It is hoped they will help people with a small degree of residual vision from bumping into obstacles by channelling light using tiny cameras in the frames of the glasses.

Developer Dr Stephen Hicks, 37, from Grandpont, South Oxford, has been working on the project at the John Radcliffe Hospital since 2010.

He said: “The glasses will transfer essential information about the nearby surroundings and build up an intricate sense of space.

“They pull out an image of the very nearest thing and highlight it. Objects will become brighter the closer you get to them and allow the user to translate this into spatial awareness.

“The aim is to increase the independence of the hundreds of thousands of people who are visually impaired in the UK, whether just at home or going to the shops. People put the glasses on and within five or 10 minutes they understand what is around them.”

Dr Hicks paid tribute to the facilities and staff in Oxford which have helped him during the research.

He said: “Working at Oxford University is a great environment for bringing about technology such as this, as only here do they have the leaders in these advanced fields.”

The cost of the glasses is expected to be about £600 – not much more than a smart phone.

Dr Hicks added: “We realise that those with vision impairment sometimes struggle for employment. Therefore we are trying to make it affordable.”

From next year, trials will take place to test the glasses, involving about 160 people in Oxford and London.

David Thompson, from Greater Leys, Oxford, works for the Oxfordshire Association for the Blind and is visually impaired.

The 53-year-old said: “This will allow people to see things they wouldn’t usually see. People will be able to identify visual hazards.

“A guide dog is good but there will always be things that even the best guide dog in the world won’t be able to spot. These glasses could help you pick up on everything.

“Only four per cent of visually impaired people have no light perception. That means that these could help a lot of people. The way technology is going this could just be the start.”

Research will continue until 2014 when the £600,000 funding from the National Institute for Health will finish.

Trials are expected to take place at the John Radcliffe Hospital first, in January and again at the end of 2013.