Eyes on the £1m prize: AI glasses on dementia shortlist

With thick plastic frames and wide arms, the chunky glasses look like 3D specs handed out in a 1990s cinema - not the kind of technology you associate with 21st-century science prizes. But put them on, and the real world takes on a new dimension.

- Nicola Davis

Designed to help people with dementia, the glasses present wearers with a screen in front of their eyes upon which floats a blue target that can be directed at objects.

The system identifies items, such as a kitchen appliance, and can provide information on how to use them and use artificial intelligence (AI) to learn from previous interactions.

With a built-in microphone and speakers, the glasses can record and play back memories associated with objects, while a gentle female voice interacts with wearers.

They are one of five projects to reach the finals of the Longitude prize on dementia - a £1m award for technology designed to help people with such conditions live independently.