Smart Glasses Follow Our Eyes, Focus Automatically

Knowing electronic gizmos the way I do, I would hate to have to rely on them for my vision...but it looks like my glasses are fated to finally exceed the cost of my phone, it was neck and neck there for a while...the last iphone finally bypassed the cost of the glasses by a comfortable margin, I thought the race over...

Thanks for this. I have no complaints about progressive lenses but this new kind of lens is interesting.

My main complaint about eyeglasses, which I've worn since I was four, progressives since I was 40, is that they get dirty immediately after I clean them. I feel like I've been seeing the world through dirt-smeared windows for more years than I will admit to. A grease-repellant coating would be most welcome since it's the grease that makes all the other crud stick.

...especially pollen at this time of year...

What does grease not stick to?....super-hydrophilic polymeric membranes ....

https://www.futurity.org/material-resists-oil-stains-1419852/

I'm 56. I wear rigid gas-permeable (RGP) contacts for distance vision (-7.75 diopters) then +1.75 cheaters from Sam's Club (four-pack for about 20 bucks) for reading.

And I keep a couple of +3.00 readers around for that really fine close-up work like hand soldering surface mount parts on circuit boards.

Nice thing about contacts is that you don't get water drops or dust on them and there is no distortion of lines at the edges of your vision. They also don't fog up when you come inside in the winter. For skiing or sailing, contacts are the way to go. Great for golf too. (But they will destroy that double-vision 'excuse'. ) My myopia is relatively severe and I would have Coke bottle bottoms for lenses. Heavy and distortion at the edges. Even with the high refractive lenses.

I've been wearing RGP's since 1989. I love them. They are hard to get used to in the first two or three days, but then the eye accepts them on the cornea. They are small, about 1 cm. in diameter and because they are stiff, they are easy to handle and clean. They float on the cornea and are pretty secure. I even water ski with them in. They pass oxygen well and their small diameter makes them healthier for the eyes. I have extended wear lenses, but I remove them and clean them every night. They are comfortable to wear for 18 hours or more per day.

The RGP's are somewhat expensive but durable. For me, they are $80 per lens. But when my prescription was somewhat stable, I used the same lenses for six years and the optometrist was impressed with their condition after that time frame.

I was never interested in refractive surgery because my prescription has never been very stable for more than a few years, so the prospect of "re-do's" or having to go back to glasses or contacts again was not appealing to me. My myopia 'peaked' about 8 years ago and has been slowing 'going back'. My dad's eyes did the same thing. In his later years, he was able to pass the license eye exam without corrective lenses.

It's really interesting how different people find different solutions preferable.

I have always been presbyopic, and of course it gets worse as I get older. When I first got prescription glasses, nearly 40 years ago. I immediately went for progressive lenses. At first, rectangular objects appeared to have curved sides, But my brain got used to them quickly. I haven't noticed that effect im many years.

I can't imagine putting contact lenses on my eyes. I can barely manage to get eyedrops in my eyes. Fortunately, I rarely need them.

For close viewing, like soldering as you say, I use AO bifocal loupes, usually 5 or 7 power. I got my first pair when assembling Heathkits (somewhere during the '70s), and have kept them handy ever since.

Congrats for still having the steady hands to do surface mount soldering.

There is to much random motion in my hands now for that.I once did replace a chip in a digital watch,and had to make my own soldering tips to do it,and had to lay off of coffee for a few days.That was my first and only venture into the almost microscopic world of surface mount soldering.I know all SM circuits are not that small,but the memory of 40 years ago still lingers.

(I still drink a lot of coffee,but it proved to be an ally when I had that job in the sewing machine factory.I had to thread the machines as they came down the line...and they were running! )*

*"That's a joke,son, a joke!-- Foghorn Leghorn

https://grabcad.com/library/wiper-glasses-1

I can see these being a big hit in Seattle,or Ireland,or England,where they have lots of rain or fog.However,in dryer climes,I see the need for a washer fluid,which presents more problems,such as batteries,tubing,hypoallergenic fluids.

Perhaps peel-off layers would work better in some areas.Similar to those used in Motocross Racing.

Definitely interesting, um... could we get a zoom on it for really tiny stuff?

I have a terrible relationship with glasses - even though they are cheap. ($2 glasses are as functional for me as the $200 ones). I need them to read or work on small things at arms length, but can't wear them even to walk across the room as I would fall over. I have many pairs and different strengths that I use now, depending on the task. I feel they are always doing things to my eyes, which is not good for my vision overall. I need glasses holidays, and hours daily when I don't do anything glasses, or I have trouble seeing clearly without them. I don't know the biology of how eyes autofocus when normal, but whatever it is (muscles I guess), it deteriorates when you let glasses do the work. So I wonder what would happen with the autofocus glasses... would you be more blind afterwards or less than with the single focus lens?

My daughter had refractive surgery and now has better than perfect vision, but she's 40 years younger. I have natural monovision and always have, so that's a partial solution for me.

The real problem with us old folks is that the lens is no longer flexible (presbyopia). If the buildup of protein over age could be reversed, that would be the ideal solution.

I think we have a prototype that fulfills all your wishes....?