IXI has created glasses that can adapt in real time to any vision problem. No longer do you need one pair for near vision and another for distance vision. How does it work?
The race for innovation sometimes makes us forget the main use of an object. You all have a perfect example in your pocket: smartphones. Beyond their ability to take perfect photos or control your other connected devices, they are basically used for making calls. A function that hasn't evolved as much as the others mentioned.
It's the same for glasses. They are now loaded with sensors capable of taking our pulse and telling us where we put our keys, but do they correct vision better than before? The answer is no, according to Niko Eiden, co-founder and CEO of IXI. “None of the tech giants are attacking vision,” he summarizes in an interview with The Next Web.
Never mind, he and his team will take care of it themselves. The idea is simple on paper: to make glasses capable of changing the lens correction in real time depending on what the person is looking at. “We're trying to make the same shift that happened with cameras: from fixed focus to manual focus, then to autofocus,” Eiden explains.
A single pair of glasses to correct any vision problem exists
To achieve this, there's no need for bulky or power-hungry sensors. The one in IXI's glasses is low-power and thin enough to fit into existing frames. It emits light pulses and measures the reflections that bounce off your eye. In doing so, the sensor is able to tell whether you are looking at something close up, far away, or in between.
The lenses of the glasses contain a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between two layers of plastic. The sensor sends the collected data via electrical signals, which will modify the structure of the liquid crystals. The light is then no longer received in the same way by the lenses; this is the famous focusing on what you are looking at. The entire process takes about 0.2 seconds. Very encouraging, even if we are not yet at the commercialization stage.
Promising results, but which still require adjustments
IXI faces several issues that absolutely must be resolved before considering a market launch. The area capable of adjusting the focus is currently quite limited and distortions are observed on the edges of the lenses. Situations in which we quickly switch from near vision to more distant vision, such as going down stairs, are not yet well managed.
The final product must be as effective and pleasant over a full day as current glasses. Not to mention that corrective lenses are prescribed, which requires IXI's lenses to meet various medical requirements. Once these obstacles are overcome, we could therefore have a single pair of glasses for driving, reading, playing sports, working…
Niko Eiden doesn't yet know if IXI will be the first company to offer such a product. In France, the startup Laclarée is working on a similar system. The same goes for Elcyo in Japan. Fair play, the CEO reminds us that this is not really the important thing. “From static lenses to dynamic lenses, it's a natural evolution. Whether it's us or another company, someone will eventually find the solution.”
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