An Army veteran who was blinded in service has received the keys to a specially adapted home in Bradenton, Florida. Dozens of people gathered for a ceremony to honor Sgt. 1st Class Aaron Cornelius and welcome him into the house, WWSB reported. He said he was thrilled with the place.
Homes for Our Troops, a national nonprofit that builds homes for severely injured veterans, provided the house. President and CEO of the organization, Tom Landwermeyer, said the group exists to care for service members in a way suited to what they have given. Each of its projects is shaped around the specific needs of the veteran who will live there.
The new home means Cornelius can be closer to Gabby, his daughter. The family had been waiting a long time for this to happen, and everyone was overjoyed when it finally did. Being near his daughter makes him feel more confident, and he appreciates having someone around.
There was a second gift that also came with the keys. Meta donated a pair of its Ray-Ban smart glasses to Cornelius by way of a new program it announced on June 12. They’re a helpful way for him to navigate his home and the new tech
How His Home is Adapted for Him
There’s an automatic door at the back entrance, and smart locks secure every exterior door. The appliances respond to voice commands, so Cornelius can operate them just by speaking. Everything about the home was meant to help assist Cornelius without him having to lift a finger.
The home is able to keep an eye on itself. Landwermeyer said magnetic contacts on the windows and doors can run a complete inventory and alert Cornelius if anything is left unlocked. That keeps him from having to make the runs himself.
A National Effort to Equip Blind Veterans
Meta’s smart glasses program aims to give a pair to every legally blind veteran who needs them. It covers more than 130,000 veterans, and is actually the largest device donation in the company’s history, Meta has said. The glasses use a built-in camera and voice controls to read text aloud, identify objects, and describe the wearer’s surroundings.
The company developed it with the Blinded Veterans Association, which offers training so recipients can use the technology fully. The idea came from Don Overton, a man who lost his sight in a bunker explosion during Desert Storm. He credits the glasses with giving his independence back. For Cornelius, the gift is an immeasurable change for him, as he described in just a few words: “I can be at peace and help others and live life.”