Dementia affects more than 55 million people worldwide — and for many of those living with it, the most devastating losses are not the dramatic ones but the quiet ones: forgetting where the kettle is, losing the thread of making a cup of tea, not recognising a familiar face at the door.
A London-based technology company called CrossSense has built a pair of AI-powered glasses designed to address exactly those moments. Weighing just 75 grams — relatively light for a device of this complexity — they work with a person's existing prescription lenses and are compatible with hearing aids. A built-in camera continuously scans the environment. When the wearer looks at an object, the glasses identify it and project a label or prompt directly onto the lens. An audio companion called Wispy can talk users through multi-step tasks — making a cup of tea, tending a houseplant, greeting a visitor — and gently answers questions when a person cannot recall what they were doing.
Crucially, Wispy learns. By asking gentle clarifying questions, the AI builds an understanding of each user's individual habits and preferences, adapting as the condition progresses rather than applying a one-size-fits-all approach.
CrossSense recently won the Longitude Prize on Dementia — a major international innovation competition funded by the Alzheimer's Society and Innovate UK (a UK government agency that funds innovation) — beating four other finalists to claim a prize of £1 million (around US$1.27 million).
The glasses are expected to be released in early 2027, with the creators hoping they will be adopted by care providers, local authorities, and memory clinics. For the 70-year-old Carole Grieg from London, who tried the glasses as a test user and runs a dementia support group, they represented something straightforward and profound: the chance to stay in her own home, doing her own things, for longer.