The end of reading glasses? ‘Tunable’ spectacles that can adjust their strength with the turn of a dial are unveiled at CES 2021 tech show
- The VOY Glasses feature a small dial at the base of each arm
- Wearers can simply turn these dials to adjust the strength of the lenses
- The $79 glasses can change focus from -5 to +2 in a matter of seconds
- This week, the glasses were awarded the 2021 Innovation Award in the Wearable Technology category at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES)
It’s a struggle that many spectacle-wearers face on a daily basis, but the days of fumbling around for your reading glasses could soon be a thing of the past, thanks to a new pair of ‘tunable’ glasses.
The futuristic glasses can change their strength with a turn of a dial, depending on what the wearer is using them for.
They can change focus from -5 to +2 in a matter of seconds, eliminating the need to carry multiple pairs of specs with you.
The designers, based in San Francisco, hope their glasses could help people suffering from presbyopia – a condition that affects the eyes’ ability to focus on nearby objects, and causes sufferers to require different glasses for different activities.
The futuristic glasses can change their strength with a turn of a dial, depending on what the wearer is using them for
HOW DO THE GLASSES WORK?
The glasses have a small dial on each arm.
To adjust the lenses, the wearer can turn the wheel away from the nose for a more negative power, or turn the wheel towards the nose for a more positive power.
The glasses use a technology first developed in the 1960s by Luis Walter Alvarez, a Nobel prize-winning scientist.
It relies on two polycarbonate plates on each side of the glasses, which slide across each other when the wheel is adjusted.
Depending on the position of the plates, the strength of the lenses is adjusted.
The tunable glasses, dubbed the VOY Glasses, feature a small dial on each arm.
To adjust the lenses, the wearer can simply turn the wheel away from the nose for a more negative power, or turn the wheel towards the nose for a more positive power.
On its website, the designers explain: ‘You can adjust one eye at a time then fine-tune your vision with both eyes open for the most comfortable view.’
The glasses use a technology first developed back in the 1960s by Luis Walter Alvarez, a Nobel prize-winning physicist.
The technology relies on two polycarbonate plates on each side of the glasses, which slide across each other when the wheel is adjusted.
Depending on the position of the plates, the strength of the lenses is adjusted.
This technology is already used in a range of other settings, including in smartphone zoom cameras and medical devices.
The VOY glasses come as both eyeglasses or sunglasses and come with a blue light blocker, anti-reflection and UV protection coatings.
They’re currently priced at $79 (£58.55), and come in a range of colours – black, tortoise, brown, grey, burgundy and white.
Amazingly, the glasses can change focus from -5 to +2 in a matter of seconds, eliminating the need to carry multiple pairs of specs with you
The VOY glasses come as both eyeglasses or sunglasses and come with a blue light blocker, anti-reflection and UV protection coatings
This week, the glasses were awarded the 2021 Innovation Award in the Wearable Technology category at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
CES is normally held every January in Las Vegas, with thousands of exhibitors and more than 170,000 attendees coming to see a wide range of new gadgets unveiled.
However, 2021 will see the convention move online with a new ‘digital venue’ having been created with the help of Microsoft as a central hub for the show’s main announcements.
Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), which organises the convention, has said the event this year will be ‘making history’ as its ‘first all-digital show’.
‘This new experience will feature more than 1,000 exhibitors from around the world, showcasing the latest trends and innovation in artificial intelligence, 5G, digital health, smart cities, vehicle tech and beyond,’ he said.
‘Technology will move us forward and CES 2021 will illustrate how innovation paves the way for a brighter tomorrow.’
CES 2021 TO MAKE HISTORY AS ITS FIRST ‘ALL-DIGITAL SHOW’
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) will take place as an entirely virtual event for the first time, as the tech industry adapts to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
CES is normally held every January in Las Vegas, with thousands of exhibitors and more than 170,000 attendees coming to see a wide range of new gadgets unveiled.
CES is normally held every January in Las Vegas, with thousands of exhibitors and more than 170,000 attendees coming to see a wide range of new gadgets unveiled
However, 2021 will see the convention move online with a new ‘digital venue’ having been created with the help of Microsoft as a central hub for the show’s main announcements.
Keynote speeches by executives from the likes of Google, Twitter and Amazon will be shown online during the event.
A number of new devices have already been unveiled ahead of the event, including new televisions from Sony which use advanced artificial intelligence it calls ‘cognitive intelligence’ to process pictures and sound in a similar fashion to the human brain in order to improve the viewing experience.
The pandemic has also had an impact on the type of gadgets expected to be unveiled, with computer monitors designed specifically for video conferencing having already been previewed by Dell.
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