Goodbye Bifocals — Electronic Glasses Change Focus

Posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday January 12, 2011 @05:48AM from the see-what-i-see dept.

kkleiner writes "Move over Ben Franklin, we finally have a replacement for bifocals. Virginia-based Pixel Optics has developed a composite lens that can change the range of focus electronically. The emPower! glasses were created in cooperation with Panasonic Healthcare, and allow you to switch between long distance and short distance vision in a split second. Rather than having a lens divided into two sections, emPower! uses an LCD overlay that can change the focal length of the glasses via electric current. When the LCD layer is off, your lenses are good for intermediate/long distances. Turn the LCD layer on, and a section of the lens is suddenly magnifying close-up images – perfect for reading."

2 of 166 comments (clear)

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

Re:Perfect for by jayme0227 · 2011-01-12 06:10 · Score: 4, Insightful

This is interesting technology, but just screams "Solution looking for a problem."

--
But then I realized the cable was blue, so I only gave it one star. I hate blue.
Feeling old by kabloom · 2011-01-12 07:28 · Score: 4, Insightful

This probably doesn't solve the main problem of bifocals, which is that people who need to wear them for the first time will still feel old. Graded lenses without the line that's visible to other people didn't solve that problem, and technologically cool LCD glasses won't either.