Bifocals and varifocals require manual focus, with the eyes feeling like they’re ping-ponging. Finnish eyewear company IXI has introduced a revolutionary technology that enables ‘autofocus’ based on the user’s needs.
Bifocals were invented in the 1800s, which required the user to look through different parts of the lens for reading and seeing something farther. Next, in the 1960s, varifocals were introduced, seamlessly transitioning from distance to near vision, though some manual effort was required. Peripheral vision was primarily affected, and the glasses required significant time to adapt to. IXI’s new eyewear uses liquid crystal technology and eye-tracking sensors to adjust the prescribed power in real time
“Modern varifocals have this narrow viewing channel because they’re mixing basically three different lenses,” said Niko Eiden, CEO of IXI. “There is far sight, intermediate and short distance, and you can’t seamlessly blend these lenses. So, there are areas of distortion, the sides of the lenses are quite useless for the user, and then you really have to manage which part of this viewing channel you’re looking at.”
Instead of fixed areas of focus, IXI has dynamic lenses that can adjust to various focal lengths. These glasses provide a greater “reading” area over the usual bifocal lens, and they are built to be present optimally as per the user’s standard eye exam. This “reading” vision nearly disappears, leaving the far vision dominant across the entire lens when needed.
The glasses would be expensive and require overnight charging, with a magnetic charging mechanism. The battery and electronics are placed covertly, keeping the overall style sleek.
Visual distortions at the edges shouldn’t impede the reading area, although the company considers them a potential drawback. The glasses have yet to be tested for driving adaptability, as a malfunction can be disastrous in such situations. The glasses have a failsafe that switches to a pair of regular glasses to prevent vision errors.
An array of photodiodes tracks the user’s eyes that convert light into electrical signals. LEDs are used to throw infrared light on the user’s eyes and gather information from their reflection to get an idea about what the user is looking at and adjust the lens accordingly. The design will be marketed for regular use, including handling temperature and moisture changes; however, the exact optimal conditions for the lenses have not yet been disclosed.
Japan’s Elyco is developing autofocus lenses using liquid crystal technology, while ViXion, another such company, is already selling autofocus lenses that do not look like conventional spectacles and require the user to look through an aperture to achieve autofocusing. IXI plans to manufacture and roll out the glasses first in Finland and Europe, obtain FDA approval to sell in the United States, and then expand to the rest of the world.
This revolutionary tech is touted as one that will lead people to question why they used manual-focus lenses a decade from now. A feat of biomimicry correcting nature’s camera, can’t receive a more poetic beginning.
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