New ‘smart glasses’ designed with automatic focus adjustment

Engineers have developed new corrective eyewear that can automatically adjust their focus based on what the wearer is looking at.

Created by a University of Utah team, the new 'smart glasses' utilise liquid-based lenses that can change the focus depending on what a person is seeing, whether it is far away or close up. This could potentially eliminate the need for bifocals or different sets of glasses for short and close-range vision.

The lenses are made of glycerin, enclosed by flexible rubber-like membranes. The rear membrane is connected to three mechanical actuators that push the membrane back and forth like a piston, changing the curvature of the lens to modulate the focal length between the lens and eye.

Meanwhile, the bridge of the glasses incorporate an infrared distance meter to provide the actuators with an indication of how much to curve the lenses. The response time on this is rapid, allowing the user to change focus from one object to another in 14 milliseconds.

The rechargeable battery in the frames is designed to last more than 24 hours per charge. Although the current prototype is bulky, it is expected that a lighter, more attractive pair could reach the market in as little as three years.

Carlos Mastrangelo, an electrical and computer engineering professor at the University of Utah, said: "Most people who get reading glasses have to put them on and take them off all the time. You don't have to do that anymore. You put these on, and it's always clear."

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