Inventor’s 2020 vision: to help 1bn of the world’s poorest see better @ The Guardian…
Silver has devised a pair of glasses which rely on the principle that the fatter a lens the more powerful it becomes. Inside the device’s tough plastic lenses are two clear circular sacs filled with fluid, each of which is connected to a small syringe attached to either arm of the spectacles.
The wearer adjusts a dial on the syringe to add or reduce amount of fluid in the membrane, thus changing the power of the lens. When the wearer is happy with the strength of each lens the membrane is sealed by twisting a small screw, and the syringes removed. The principle is so simple, the team has discovered, that with very little guidance people are perfectly capable of creating glasses to their own prescription.
16 thoughts on “Professor pioneers DIY adjustable glasses that do not need an optician”
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this works as long as you don’t have an astigmatism.
I was thinking the same thing. Still, this is an amazing product for developing countries.
I heard a report he believes he can get the cost to $1 a pair for the billions of people who need them – how about charge western industrialized people $20-40 a pair to fund the project?
While he wants it to cost $1, it does not. He needs to refine the technology a bit more before it gets to $1.
An astounding great idea.
Astigmatism is an issue known to these folks. Some populations have little astigmatism (weird, huh?). I suppose they’ll get the basics down first. Perhaps we’ll see a rotatable-lense version available with a modest assortment of built-in asymmetries?
DavidGlover, not many westerners would pay $20-$40 for a pair of glasses. You can get *real* glasses for that price or cheaper from online optical shops like zenni optical.
So long as those lenses are durable this is a very cool project.
Their website is http://www.adaptive-eyecare.com/
It says the lenses can be adjusted from -6 to +6 diopters, which is reasonably strong (although some peole need more).
Optometrist, maybe?