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Technology
Mar 18, 2026

AI-Powered Smart Glasses Win £1m Prize for Dementia Assistance Technology

AI Summary
AI software for smart glasses, called CrossSense, has won a £1m prize for its potential to help people with dementia. The technology, which includes a chatty assistant called Wispy, guides wearers through everyday life with verbal cues and text.

CrossSense, an innovative AI software, has been awarded a £1m prize for its groundbreaking technology designed to assist individuals with dementia. This cutting-edge system is integrated into smart glasses and features a user-friendly assistant named Wispy. The smart glasses, equipped with a camera, microphone, and speakers, provide wearers with real-time guidance and support through everyday tasks.

Wispy offers verbal cues and text prompts that float in front of the wearer's eyes, enhancing their ability to navigate daily life. The AI assistant can also engage in light conversation, ask questions, and aid reminiscences, significantly improving the wearer's independence and quality of life.

The Longitude Prize on Dementia, funded by Alzheimer's Society and Innovate UK, aims to encourage the development of technology that helps people with dementia stay independent for longer. About 150 million people are expected to be living with dementia by 2050, making such innovations crucial.

The CrossSense technology is expected to cost around £50 a month per subscription, with the smart glasses potentially costing up to £1,000. However, the developers plan to make the technology more affordable over time. The team behind CrossSense plans to conduct a pilot study with smart glasses in people's homes later this year.

Prof Julia Simner, who led the study, noted that participants with dementia could correctly identify 46% of household items without the glasses, increasing to 82% with the glasses. An hour after removing the glasses, the identification rate remained high at 78%.

While experts praise the innovation, they also highlight the need for larger, more controlled studies to test the device's effectiveness and address ethical considerations regarding data collection and user consent.