Over a billion people in the world experience some form of visual impairment with conditions that effect every aspect of their life. From completing everyday tasks and interacting with their families to enjoying once-in-a-lifetime events, the low vision community has difficulty making the most of what the world has to offer.
OXSIGHT wants to change that.
In 2010, our founding members began their research at the University of Oxford. Working closely with the low vision community, our researchers explored how the brain manages visual information and what we can do to amplify this capability in people with visual impairment. Our work gained international recognition and we were invited to share what we had discovered at prestigious events across the world.
Building on our research at Oxford we established OXSIGHT in 2016, with the goal of developing innovative solutions for sight degeneration that balance style, functionality and intuitive technology. Since then, our team has grown into an organisation with a global presence, helping people with visual impairment take back control of their vision.
A Multi-Disciplinary Team
The OXSIGHT team includes scientists and clinicians from various disciplines, such as ophthalmology, neuroscience, computer vision and machine learning. Combining their expertise has enabled the development of our powerful smart glasses. They continue to look for novel ways to expand field of vision, enhance light and shape detection.
International Collaboration
In pursuit of sight degeneration solutions, OXSIGHT has partnered with leading global players from the sight-impaired community and the tech sector, including the Guide Dogs Association, the Royal Institute of Blind People (RNIB), the Royal Academy of Engineering, the National Institute for Health Research Invention for Innovation and the University of Oxford.
To reach as many people as we can, OXSIGHT is building a network of clinics and holds events across the UK. Our team offers personal assessments and free demonstrations of our glasses, bringing our technology to the people who will most benefit from it.
Watch the video to learn more about our visionary work.
Clinical Team
Professor Monica Chaudhry
International Clinical Advisor
Monica Chaudhry is Professor and Director School of Health Sciences at Ansal University, India, and Chairman of the Optometry Council of India. Her academic and clinical experience spans two and a half decades at Amity University, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (Delhi) and IGNOU University. As a key opinion leader, she has consulted and advised for leading eye care companies including Johnson and Johnson, Bausch + Lomb, Alcon and Essilor. Her contribution to medical services have been recognized with the Shreshtshree Award (Delhi), the Australian Leadership Fellowship Award in 2012 and the 2015 IACLE Contact Lens Educator of the Year Awards (UK). Her books include “Low Vision”, “Contact Lens Primer” and “Refraction and Prescription”.
Professor Xinghuai Sun
International Clinical Advisor
Professor Sun is Chairman and Professor of the Department of Ophthalmology & Vision Science at Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University in China. He is President-elect of the Chinese Ophthalmology Society, chairman of the Ophthalmology & Vision Science Committee of Chinese Research Hospital Association, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Glaucoma Society of Chinese Ophthalmology Society and Vice President of the Eye Doctor Association of China. He is also Principal Investigator at State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Institutes of Brain Science and Director of Key Laboratory of Myopia, China Ministry of Health both at Fudan University. Professor Sun has authored more than 100 papers published in high impact professional journals. He has received numerous awards and grants for both his research and his clinical ophthalmology practice.
Directors
Mr Jiangong Zhang
Chairman
Mr Zhang is an experienced businessman with a strong reputation for developing and supporting technology led companies. He has invested in a range of Oxford University spinouts including OXSIGHT, which he believes represents an outstanding opportunity to support the blind community. As Chairman, he provides counsel on commercial production and development and an in-depth knowledge of the Chinese market.
Dr Rakesh Roshan
CEO
Having formed and raised finance for over 20 Oxford technology companies, Dr Rakesh Roshan brings commercial experience, technical understanding and global networks to OXSIGHT. His experience implementing market entry strategies to progress new technologies will be key to the company’s mission of producing smart glasses which improve the lives of people with low vision. At Oxford University Innovation and Sharp Technologies, Rakesh led teams which closed multiple investment transactions and hit technical goals for multibillion dollar consumer products. He holds a PhD in Physics and a Finance qualification, both from the University of Oxford.
Dr Stephen Hicks FRSA
Head of Innovation & Non-Executive Director
Dr Hicks is an accomplished technology innovator with expertise in neuroscience, machine learning, augmented vision and cybernetics. He leads OXSIGHT’s technical team which delivered their first two innovative augmented reality products for low vision and he is responsible for setting the technical strategy of the company. He co-founded OXSIGHT based on scientific research which he lead at the University of Oxford.
Dr Stephen Hicks is an internationally recognised thinker and public speaker on medical technologies and the future of humanity. He has given keynote address at numerous international events including GIANT Healthcare in London, a TED lecture, and numerous interviews for the press, including BBC, The Guardian, and CNN. He has over 50 peer-reviewed scientific publications and over 10 granted or pending patents. His work has been recognised with awards from The Royal Society and Google. Stephen is an enterprise fellow of The Royal Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Professor Philip Torr
Non-Executive Director
Professor Torr is an award-winning computer vision and machine learning expert, recognized internationally in both academic and commercial arenas. He runs the Torr Vision Group at the University of Oxford which has won numerous computer vision awards including the Marr prize. In the augmented reality space, he was involved in the spin out 2d3, whose post production software won a Technical Emmy. Phil has worked with the Microsoft Kinect team and with Sony on their Augmented Reality PlayStation software for the Eye Toy. Phil also advises companies developing autonomous vehicle technologies.
Jian Cao
Director
Jian Cao founded RTC Innovation Ltd in 2009 and has led £15 million of venture capital investments over the past 5 years. These ventures include: Oxford Multi Spectral Ltd, Oxford Vacmedix Ltd, OxEML, Oxford PV, 3D Engine Ltd, Silicon Fuel Ltd and OXSIGHT Ltd. Jian holds qualifications in Accounting & Finance from Tianjin University of Commerce (BSc), Computer Science from the University of Birmingham (MSc) and Mechanical Engineering from the University of Birmingham (PhD). He serves as a director on the boards of a number of technology companies. Jian has experience in both technical and commercial roles. His research experience was gained at companies including Corus (UK), Israel Aircraft Industries, IMRA (Japan) and Shougang Research Institute of Technology (China). He has also worked as accountant for China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
Stephen Brindle
Non-Executive Director
Stephen has substantial board level experience managing and supporting new spinout companies. He spent eight years as Managing Partner of Technikos LLP, an early stage venture capital fund with a long term commercial contract with Oxford University’s Bio-medical Engineering Department. His responsibilities included deal origination, due diligence, fund raising, board representation (as NED or Chairman), compliance, and LP reporting. Between 2011 and 2015, Stephen worked part time for a Technikos portfolio company in an operational capacity, helping the business grow from 3 to over 25 employees. At Technikos Stephen helped grow the portfolio to 15 companies (14 life sciences and one clean tech). Stephen previously worked in the City as an institutional specialist focusing on the life science sector.
Rajeev Sawhney
Non-Executive Director
Rajeev is an organisation builder and over the past 35 years has been a driving force in numerous high growth businesses. He played a critical leadership role in growing one of the world’s most successful technology firms: from startup to $6b company in just over two decades. Rajeev continues to foster a culture of strategic and tactical thinking and entrepreneurship in the start-ups he mentors, leveraging his network to help them achieve profitable growth. Over the last 2 years, as President-Strategic Business, Mphasis, a Hewlett Packard company, he led the creation of growth engines globally. Prior to Mphasis, he worked as President of HCL Technologies, Europe, which accounted for 28% of sales revenue with profitable growth. He has consistently delivered results in new client acquisition, large deal acquisition and global sales.
