AdaptiveGlasses
Latest
TruFocals make steampunk glasses a functional, expensive reality
Glasses with an adjustable focal length -- sounds so simple, somebody must have already done it, right? Well, yes, but earlier efforts have looked more like diving goggles than something you could, you know, wear in public. The Harry Potter-esque TruFocals, on the other hand, are (only just) acceptable looking and operate via the golden slider you see above. By tweaking translucent fluids between a pair of lenses for each eye, it alters the distance at which the specs focus, sort of like having your very own zoom function. The price for such flexibility is $895, which inventor Stephen Kurtin considers a sterling bargain, and we've got video of him after the break explaining just how awesomely revolutionary his product is.[Via CNET]
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.
