The end of reading specs? Smart glasses can automatically focus on what the wearer is looking at (although the styling may need a bit of work)
- Adaptive glasses are designed with liquid-based lenses
- Three actuators on each lens pushes them back in forth to adjust focus
- Users will only have to plug-in their eyeglasses prescription into
- Will never have to switch frames or buy a new pair again
The days of switching between reading and prescription glasses are numbered.
Researcher have designed a pair of smart glasses that automatically adjust to what the person is seeing.
The 'adaptive eyeglasses' use liquid-based lenses and sensors to let wearer's see both nearby and faraway objects, without ever having to swap frames.
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Researcher have designed a pair of smart glasses that automatically adjust to what the person is seeing. The 'adaptive eyeglasses' use liquid-based lenses and sensors to let wearers see both nearby and faraway objects, without having to swap frames
The early prototype was unveiled by a team at the University of Utah, which foresees the device putting an end to people having to switch between glasses and change prescriptions they are.
'Most people who get reading glasses have to put them on and take them off all the time,' says Mastrangelo, who also is a professor for USTAR, the Utah Science Technology and Research economic development initiative.
'You don't have to do that anymore. You put these on, and it's always clear.'
Mastrangelo and his colleague Nazmul Hasan, a doctoral student, designed the special lenses with rubbery membranes made of glycerin, a thick colorless liquid found in soap and skin care products.
There are three actuators on each of the lenses that push the membranes back and forth - similar to a piston in a vehicle.
This process is the key to these smart glasses, as it adjusts the focal length between the lens and the eye.
'The focal length of the glasses depends on the shape of the lens, so to change the optical power we actually have to change the membrane shape,' Mastrangelo says.
The frames were also specially designed for this device, as it is equip with electronics and a battery to control and power the actuators.
A distance meter since in the bridge of the glasses that measures the distance from the glasses to an object via pulses of infrared light.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20170129001459im_/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/gif/2017/01/giphy (1).gif)
The earlier prototype automatically adjusts to what the wear is seeing. This means people will no longer have to switch between prescription and reading glasses
Researchers said the lenses can change focus from one object to another in 14 milliseconds and the rechargeable battery in the frames could last more than 24 hours per charge
When the wearer looks at an object, the meter instantly measures the distance and tells the actuators how to curve the lenses.
If the user then sees another object that's closer, the distance meter readjusts and tells the actuators to reshape the lens for farsightedness.
Hasan said the lenses can change focus from one object to another in 14 milliseconds and the rechargeable battery in the frames could last more than 24 hours per charge.
Users will only have to plug-in their eyeglasses prescription into an accompanying app, which calibrates the lenses automatically via a Bluetooth connection, when they first activate the glasses.
Users will only have to plug-in their eyeglasses prescription into an accompanying app, which calibrates the lenses automatically via a Bluetooth connection, when they first activate the glasses
This process only has to be done once and the wearer will never have to buy another pair again.
The prototype is still in development stages, as it is bulky, but the team is working to design a smaller and lighter pair.
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