New AI Glasses for Dementia ‘Sees’ Objects With Labels Projected on Lenses to ‘Significantly’ Improve Lives

Carole Grieg testing the CrossSense AI glasses – SWNS

New AI glasses for people with dementia are able to project visual prompts onto the lenses to help folks live more independently—and they could be available in the UK in 2027.

The latest news comes after the glasses wowed both test patients in their homes and a panel of outside judges.

They can guide people living with early-stage dementia through daily activities by identifying common objects and providing audio commentary or answer questions while projecting visual prompts onto the lenses.

By asking gentle questions, the glasses’ AI companion, called ‘Wispy’, understands and learns a person’s unique way of doing things, with the AI adapting to each user’s needs as their dementia progresses.

Wispy will even talk through what to do when a person cannot remember a particular step in a process.

In test trials, three out of four patients reported a significant improvement to their quality of life, thanks to the glasses and Wispy’s tips developed from UK company CrossSense.

Warning appears on the lenses of the CrossSense AI glasses (GNN screenshot of SWNS/CrossSense video)

Spending over a decade creating and tweaking prototypes of the app and gadget, a team of AI engineers trained the glasses with dozens of everyday activities including getting dressed, managing household chores safely, making a cup of tea and interacting with loved ones.

The specs, which work with people’s prescription lens inserts and hearing aids, also capture the environment of the person living with dementia and the AI interprets that information to help the user to do the things that define independence.

“This includes feeling confident in their own home, taking good care of themselves, planning the day ahead, completing planned activities and hosting friends and family,” said the creators.

Screenshot of Wispy AI in the midst of interacting with user of theCrossSense AI glasses, discussing care of a houseplant (Still from SWNS video)

With a release date set for early 2027 in the UK, the inventors hope the specs, which weigh less than 3 ounces (75g), will be used by local authorities, care providers, and NHS hospital memory clinics.

Last week, the London-based team behind the technology, CrossSense, won the Longitude Prize on Dementia with its million dollar prize funded by the Alzheimer’s Society and Innovate UK.

The panel of international expert judges agreed that the winning solution was a genuine breakthrough technology with revolutionary potential for people living with dementia and their families.

CrossSense says the gadget includes a built-in battery that lasts for one hour, but also a portable power bank that can keep the glasses running all day long.

70-year-old Carole Grieg from London (pictured above), who founded a dementia support group called ForgetMeNots, tried the new glasses and is convinced they could help her fellow dementia patients maintain their independence.

“I thought it was an amazing concept, with the potential to provide real, reliable support for people like me, helping to compensate for the cognitive skills we gradually lose as dementia progresses.”

“For many of us, our world slowly becomes smaller as the condition progresses. Innovations like this offer real hope, and I know that as my own circumstances change, I will certainly be relying on them.”

Professor Fiona Carragher, chief research officer at Alzheimer’s Society admires the way the technology can develop its ‘intuitive personal support’.

“By anticipating people’s needs as their condition progresses, easing daily living challenges, and providing reassurance to families, this revolutionary tech will allow people with dementia to maintain their independence for longer, within the familiar environment of home.” New AI Glasses for Dementia ‘Sees’ Objects With Labels Projected on Lenses to ‘Significantly’ Improve Lives

Read More........→April 23, 2026

Application lodged to build microreactor at US university

A rendering of the KRONOS plant at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Image: NANO Nuclear)

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced it has received an application from the University of Illinois to construct the first research KRONOS micro modular reactor on the university's campus.

The Construction Permit Application (CPA) was submitted on 31 March by The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, NANO Nuclear Energy Inc's partner for the KRONOS MMR deployment at the University of Illinois (U of I).

"With this submission, NANO Nuclear becomes the first commercially-ready microreactor developer and the third commercially-ready Generation IV advanced reactor developer to submit a CPA, placing NANO Nuclear among a small group of advanced nuclear companies progressing toward commercial deployment," the company said.

It added: "The preparation of a CPA represents the culmination of years of engineering development, thousands of pages of technical documentation, coordinated input across reactor design, safety analysis, environmental review, and regulatory compliance disciplines, and establishment of a viable supply chain. In NANO Nuclear's partnership with the U of I, the CPA submission builds on an extensive body of work developed through continuous engagement with the NRC, including completion of the readiness assessment, a voluntary but highly rigorous process aimed at ensuring a complete and high-quality application. Importantly, this iterative process reflects a high level of alignment with regulatory expectations and provides strong confidence in the application's readiness for acceptance for docketing and formal NRC review."

"The NRC is reviewing the application to determine whether it is complete," the regulator said. "If accepted, the agency will begin a detailed technical evaluation of the reactor's safety and security and publish a notice of opportunity to request an adjudicatory hearing on the application before the NRC's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board."

It noted that if the construction permit is granted, the university would need to submit a separate operating licence application and receive NRC approval before the reactor could begin operation.

NANO Nuclear acquired the Micro Modular Reactor Energy System technology through its USD85 million acquisition of Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation's nuclear technology, which was completed in January last year. At that time, NANO Nuclear renamed the technology as the KRONOS MMR. The MMR is a 45 MW thermal, 15 MW electrical high-temperature gas-cooled reactor, using TRISO fuel in prismatic graphite blocks and has a sealed transportable core.

NANO Nuclear signed a strategic collaboration agreement with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in April 2025 to construct the first research KRONOS micro modular reactor on the university's campus. The agreement formally established the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as a partner in the licensing, siting, public engagement, and research operation of the KRONOS MMR, while also identifying the university campus as the permanent site for the reactor as a research and demonstration installation.

The university plans to re-power partially its coal-fired Abbott power station with the KRONOS MMR, providing a zero-carbon demonstration of district heat and power to campus buildings as part of its green campus initiative. The project team aims to demonstrate how microreactor systems integrate with existing fossil fuel infrastructure to accelerate the decarbonisation of existing power-generation facilities."Through every step of the process thus far, we at The Grainger College of Engineering have worked diligently alongside our partners at NANO Nuclear Energy to ensure our goals in constructing the first KRONOS MMR on the university's campus can become a reality," said Caleb Brooks, Professor and Donald Biggar Willett Faculty Scholar of Nuclear, Plasma and Radiological Engineering at The Grainger College of Engineering. "By submitting the Construction Permit Application to the NRC, we are taking the next step in signifying that the work will be done correctly and precisely. And we continue to look forward to the possibilities of what can become the most advanced nuclear research platform on any US campus." Application lodged to build microreactor at US university

Read More........→April 23, 2026