You know what’s worse than wearing prescription glasses? A changing refractive error—and for some, juggling both negative and positive diopters. Sure, progressive lenses can deal with the latter, but that’s not the point. The point is that you still need regular eye exams and, God forbid, new lenses whenever your prescription changes.
Well, that, my friends, is where the IXI Adaptive Eyewear with Autofocus Lenses comes in. The product name is pretty self-explanatory, and if materialized, it would be the world’s first. Granted, it is not the first to toy with this concept. There was the ViXion 01 from a Hoya spin-off. That did become a real product and even has a newer model, the ViXion 01S. However, it is not quite suitable for everyday use because its small lens area limits its field of view.
Anyhoo, the IXI Adaptive Eyewear with Autofocus Lenses is pitched as the world’s first autofocus glasses. Using a combination of eye-tracking sensors inside the frame and tunable liquid crystal lenses, the eyewear is able to track where your eyes are looking and adjust the focus accordingly—just like our eyes do. Well, non-myopic and astigmatism-free eyes, anyway. IXI said its adaptive glasses instantly adapt, whether you’re looking near or far.
This means the days of progressive lenses—and constantly checking and changing prescription lenses—are numbered. Well, almost, because there’s a catch. It is not a miracle solution for all prescription glasses users. It is primarily aimed at folks with presbyopia (age-related farsightedness) who rely on reading glasses, bifocals, or progressive lenses.
That said, as far as farsightedness goes, there were others, including Mitsui Chemicals’ TouchFocus, but they were not quite autofocus like IXI promises. The best part is, of course, that it looks like regular eyewear and is as light as regular glasses. The newest prototype revealed last November tips the scales at just 22 g.
There’s no worry about fit—which is the concern of most people because, you know, facial shapes differ—because IXI also introduces the True-Fit frame architecture that allows for customization of the temples, nose piece, and pantoscopic tilt. The only downside I see is that it needs to be charged, just like any gadget, though the exact mAh has not been disclosed.
The IXI Adaptive Eyewear with Autofocus Lenses is no doubt an exciting future tech product, which means it is not something you can buy anytime soon. In the meantime, you can hit up its website for more details.
Images: IXI Eyewear.
