New Computer Game to Help People with Visual Impairments

A woman takes an eye test in east London. REUTERS/Olivia Harris
A woman takes an eye test in east London. REUTERS/Olivia Harris
TT

New Computer Game to Help People with Visual Impairments

A woman takes an eye test in east London. REUTERS/Olivia Harris
A woman takes an eye test in east London. REUTERS/Olivia Harris

A team of researchers at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey, has developed new electronic games that help patients get rid of vision problems.

The innovative computer game, dubbed "Gözcü” (spotter), does not require the use of hands, but is managed by eye movement.

Kursat Cagıltay, a computer professor at Middle East Technical University of Ankara, said in a statement about the new innovation, that the project aims to improve the sight of people with partial visual impairments.

He added that the innovative games offer the eye the required exercises by tracking what is happening inside the game and controlling its elements with the eye movement.

"It is known that eye exercises are usually practiced by using beads, threads or colored objects, under the supervision of a specialist, but these traditional methods have no positive results in most cases, especially in young people with visual impairment. But, the new games give better results, because the patient has to follow the game while sitting in front of the computer screen, and thus move his eyes in all directions,” said Cagıltay.

The team behind the games was able to achieve good results during the pilot phase, which involved a child with strabismus, he explained.



Google to Open Second Data Center in Latin America, to Invest Over $850 Mln 

The president of Google Cloud for Latin America, Eduardo Lopez, participates in the inauguration of the Google Data Center works, on the premises of the Science Park, in Canelones, Uruguay 29 August 2024. (EPA)
The president of Google Cloud for Latin America, Eduardo Lopez, participates in the inauguration of the Google Data Center works, on the premises of the Science Park, in Canelones, Uruguay 29 August 2024. (EPA)
TT

Google to Open Second Data Center in Latin America, to Invest Over $850 Mln 

The president of Google Cloud for Latin America, Eduardo Lopez, participates in the inauguration of the Google Data Center works, on the premises of the Science Park, in Canelones, Uruguay 29 August 2024. (EPA)
The president of Google Cloud for Latin America, Eduardo Lopez, participates in the inauguration of the Google Data Center works, on the premises of the Science Park, in Canelones, Uruguay 29 August 2024. (EPA)

Alphabet's Google said on Thursday it will open its second data center in Latin America in the Uruguayan city of Canelones and invest more than $850 million in it.

Google opened its first data center in Latin America in Quilicura, which is near Santiago, the capital city of Chile, in 2015. It invested an initial amount of $150 million in the data center and spent an additional $140 million in 2018 for expansion.

"We hope our new data center in Canelones will be a significant contribution to the professional and technological development of Uruguay and the entire region," Google said in a blog post.

Reuters reported on Thursday that Google is considering building a "hyperscale" data center close to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and that the center would be ready in 2027.

In April, Google announced a $3 billion investment to set up a data center campus in Indiana and expand sites in Virginia. Google also said in May that it will invest $2 billion in Malaysia to develop its first data center and Google Cloud region in the country.