British physics professor perfects "tunable eyeglasses" -- no eye doctor required

We've seen small scale liquid lenses progress from concepts to commerical applications, and now Joshua Silver, a retired physics professor at Oxford University, has perfected what he calls "adaptive glasses," applying similar tech in a singular and ingenious way. Aimed at helping developing nations where glasses are expensive and doctors are often in short supply, Silver's spectacles are made of tough plastic with with silicone liquid in the lenses. When purchased, each lense will have a syringe attached to it, and the wearer will be able to adjust the amount of liquid in the lenses -- which essentially changes the prescription -- without the need for an optician. About 10,000 pairs have been distributed in Ghana on a trial basis, with plans to distribute one million pairs in India in the next year -- the ultimate goal is one billion by 2020. And somewhere else in the world, a room full of opticians cry into their beer.

[Spencer @ Dec 23rd 2008 7:20AM]

100 Billion? They must be planning for quite a population boom, then.

[)law( @ Dec 23rd 2008 7:26AM]

Not everyone has heard of "pulling out"

[Sakura3210 @ Dec 23rd 2008 7:34AM]

Or there's the possibility that people will get more than one pair.

[Spencer @ Dec 23rd 2008 7:42AM]

100 Billion would equal 16 pairs for every person on the planet.

[Wiserun @ Dec 23rd 2008 8:08AM]

Yeah, 16 pairs for each (current) person, over the next 11 years. Vision changes until you're about 21, kids tend to break things, and adults tend to lose things.

But I agree, completely unreasonable number, mostly because there's no way these are going to be used by non-third world country inhabitants (I'm guessing they've got no famous designers on board), not everyone who needs vision correction wears glasses (contacts, laser eye surgery, bumping into a lot of stuff), and of course, the big one: not every person in the world needs their vision corrected!

[t-o89 @ Dec 23rd 2008 11:45PM]

16?! im getting like 43 of those sons of .... very respectable mothers

[A Nude Walrus @ Dec 23rd 2008 7:41AM]

Correction:

"His aim is to eventually reach 100 million people a year, with a target of one billion in total by 2020."

[Goatee Man @ Dec 23rd 2008 8:12AM]

I love your name.

[Eddie @ Dec 23rd 2008 7:42AM]

*shoots up silicon into chest*

ahhhhhh breasts

[Esat Dedezade @ Dec 23rd 2008 9:23AM]

...

[Emceay @ Dec 23rd 2008 5:43PM]

Um.. actually one has astigmatism. Sorry, but you've got lopsided titties.

[Pedro @ Dec 23rd 2008 7:50AM]

I had these demoed to me the other day. The syringes on the side are no longer 'push/pull' controlled, but they have 'scroll wheels' instead.

It makes a massive difference in being able to fine tune them. the syringes can also be detached now after the glasses are set.

The lenses aren't as good as real glass ones, but it's pretty surprising how well they work and how cheap they can be manufactured. It's also great when you realise they can be adjusted/shared/reused unlike a set prescription.

[maxter @ Dec 23rd 2008 2:30PM]

Thank God the syringe can be detached!

[Othello @ Dec 23rd 2008 6:49PM]

Better article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/dec/22/diy-adjustable-glasses-josh-silver . The glasses aren't perfected, they're still trying to make them smaller and more attractive.

[Orappa @ Dec 23rd 2008 7:56AM]

100 billion is quite a mouthfull hauhauahu, it makes sence though.
each person on the planet have about 3.
1. for reading
2. for casual use.
3. for fancy use.
so great articel

[absinthe party @ Dec 23rd 2008 8:04AM]

...

How many people do you actually believe to be living on this planet? By your calculations, roughly 33 billion?

[Shinigami @ Dec 23rd 2008 8:31AM]

Low ranked for not reading
A Nude Walrus's
comment. Its highest ranked too.

Copy of the comment:

Correction:

"His aim is to eventually reach 100 million people a year, with a target of one billion in total by 2020."

[Arthur Nonamiss @ Dec 23rd 2008 9:41AM]

MATH FAIL

[Raheem @ Dec 23rd 2008 7:58AM]

Good stuff.

Opticians make ridiculous margins, as I learnt while purchasing a pair of glasses for around £250. The cost of the lenses to them? £2.50.

[ShyGuy91284 @ Dec 23rd 2008 9:11AM]

Service service service. That's my only comment. When someone has an ability you can't do, they can make you and you will pay premium for it. I have no idea how difficult it is to grind up a lens, but I don't know how to do it. Nor do I know how to fix problems with my vehicle, which I also pay a fair amount for.

[mltdwn @ Dec 23rd 2008 12:35PM]

It's not the lenses that cost they can generally be anywhere in the neighborhood of $5.00 for the really cheap ones to around $100 for the nice, featherlight lenses with all of the different coatings. The cost is in the processing. Opticians still have to use pretty large, expensive machines, and while if you have a perfectly acceptable eyesight (within around +-2.50) you can get the lenses pre-made and they just have to trim them to the frames, if you go outside that vision range they have to actually grind down and form the lenses from blanks which takes time and resources. But MOST of the cost you pay for glasses is for the frames. If you get Nickle Titanium frames that alone can jump the price up $100-200 on its own. Get one of the "designer" frames (which there actually is in the glasses world, though you wuoldn't know it unless you were an optician) and that jumps it up significantly as well. Basically unless you get BCGs (Birth-Control Glasses) you will be paying upwards of $100-200 for a pair if you don't properly research what you are getting (every coating adds to the price, scratch-resistance, UV, etc. all of which they will try to sell you).

[Brent1700 @ Dec 23rd 2008 8:06AM]

these things are madd ghetto

[Christ @ Dec 23rd 2008 12:22PM]

fa da homiez in Ghana yo

[Verythrax @ Dec 23rd 2008 8:07AM]

2 quick questions:

1) how a person will be able to check if that tuning is the best for them?

2) Isn't true that some vision ailments are only corrected by a format-specific lenses? These are supposed to be glasses, not slim binoculars, you know.

[Verythrax @ Dec 23rd 2008 8:09AM]

The original article mentions ONE billion, anyway.

[cduran01 @ Dec 23rd 2008 9:06AM]

1) Really simple, trial and error just like the doc does. You look at something you normally look at a lot (ie. computer screen) then you adjust until its comfortable.

2) There may be some that this will not be suitable for Im sure.

[Andir3.0 @ Dec 23rd 2008 10:20AM]

The problem with corrective lenses though is when they are jsut a hair off prescription. They actually make your eyes worse because you are constantly correcting for the mistake.

[hazard @ Dec 23rd 2008 8:16AM]

Woo .. I remember feeling awfully conspicuous as a kid with normal glasses let alone having to wear these monsters. Doesn't matter who you are that's a lotta equipment to have sitting on your face.

[dave @ Dec 23rd 2008 8:23AM]

@Verythrax

1./ The same way your highly trained and highly paid opthalmologist does: by twiddling the knob on the side of the spectacles until your view gets better-better-better-better-best-worse-oops, and then going back a little way.

For simple lens prescriptions with no serious underlying medical problem, it's a very simple process.

2./ Yes. Opthalmologists earn their money by prescribing complex (non-spherical) lenses where necessary, and by diagnosing other diseases.

[STINK @ Dec 23rd 2008 8:23AM]

If you can run an electric current through the lenses to get a lava lamp effect I'm pre-ordering mine NOW. 100 billion pair.

[Irene Rojas @ Dec 23rd 2008 8:41AM]

"Focus!" - Prof. Farnsworth, Futurama

[Deuche ex Machina @ Dec 23rd 2008 8:49AM]

I'm seeing these as good for positive prescriptions for far-sighted people who require a convex lens (more fluid causes the center to bulge further for stronger prescriptions), but I'm assuming that there will be a concave version for the near-sighted, with the center of the lens fixed and the fluid expanding the outer edges. As to astigmatism, these will still be helpful as astigmatics will still see a benefit from some spherical correction. To get perfect corrected vision, you would need an aspheric lens, but you can get close without the extra bells and whistles.

Go read the Dune books, they used oil-filled lenses in an imaginary world that was, come to think of it, based on our far future. So I guess we're on track for giant sandworms, instantaneous space travel, and mysterious boxes that contain pain. http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/20/tuttuki-bako-poking-box-lets-you-torment-low-res-creatures/

[Andir3.0 @ Dec 23rd 2008 10:26AM]

It would be easier to fix the edge films apart and fill it with liquid. Sucking out any will cause the center to concave. In fact, I'm guessing that these already do that as well as convex.

[Agent .25i @ Dec 23rd 2008 10:39AM]

Don't forget those creepy floating assassination needles.

[Professor STFU @ Dec 23rd 2008 9:02AM]

These have been around for a number of years I believe

[cduran01 @ Dec 23rd 2008 9:10AM]

The future will be nano crystals that align themselves with electrical currents to give you the optical properties the person needs.

[superhobo @ Dec 23rd 2008 1:41PM]

The crystals will be in your eye, right?

[Deuche ex Machina @ Dec 23rd 2008 9:10AM]

Practical beer goggles take one more step toward reality. Can I get these with Anchor Porter filling?

[rakiah @ Dec 23rd 2008 9:59AM]

I think they meant 100 million.

[Pomel @ Dec 23rd 2008 10:13AM]

Seems like temperature/pressure changes would constantly change the optics.

[Brent @ Dec 23rd 2008 10:14AM]

I'm waiting for do-it-yourself LASIK.

[Agent .25i @ Dec 23rd 2008 10:45AM]

Like Andir3.0 mentions, I as well can see problems arising from improperly adjusted lenses, causing further eye damage.
Good thing they are adjustable... so when your sight goes out further as a result of these, you just adjust. Should be a slogan... "Just Adjust"

[Keith @ Dec 23rd 2008 12:21PM]

I guess the question is which is worse for the eyes? No correction at all? or correction that is just a little off? Anyway it's not uncommon at all for people in the US to have prescriptions that are off. For example people with contact lenses often use spherical lenses when they only have a slight astigmatism because it's cheaper than a toric lens.

The point you missed in the article is these aren't for people in first world countries where getting a proper prescription is easy. These are for people in countries where they don't easy access to optometrists or ophthalmologists.

[Agent .25i @ Dec 23rd 2008 3:43PM]

I understand these are intended for use in third world countries, and countries where they don't have easy access to optometrists or ophthalmologists. I suppose you're correct, from what I gathered, that any correction is better than none.
However, wouldn't the further degradation of the intended wearers sight cause more problems in the future; that is if they were improperly adjusted initially.
I would suggest that in the places where these glasses will be made available, that they have someone, not necessarily an optometrist or ophthalmologist, or even someone with a medical degree/background, just someone with training and a chart to ensure that the people wearing these wonderfully engineered marvels, are getting the best use from them.

[kingu @ Dec 23rd 2008 11:34AM]

Can you see me now?

[Dieselroar @ Dec 23rd 2008 12:00PM]

Wow, took him long enough. Popular Science Reported on these when I was still in middle school! I just read the article last night while going through my old issues.

This could have a huge impact on the developing world. Once he makes it a bit more attractive, the African and south Asian continents could be changed dramatically by these. It's cheap and it works, and solves a problem. Amazing invention I think.

[JPW @ Dec 23rd 2008 12:59PM]

I'm pretty certain that the article should read "silicone liquid," not "silicon liquid." Silicon liquid would be pretty hot.

[Loonie @ Dec 23rd 2008 2:16PM]

Ah, he just wants everyone to look like Riddick.

[hustler @ Dec 23rd 2008 2:56PM]

Someone should develop something similar for the women breasts and siring should be handled only by men.Oh boy.

[J @ Dec 24th 2008 8:43AM]

Have people considered these potential problems?

How durable are these lenses though? If you scratch them do or drop them does the silicone leak out?
What if the lenses start to sag? They are liquid after all, and would most likely bulge nearer the bottom especially with time.
How do you correct for astigmatism? I doubt that you can actually.