With products such as Google Glass and Snapchat Spectacles still being refined before going on sale to the wider public, the future of eyewear is looking more and more likely to focus on the integration of computers, cameras and social media.
This particular direction only furthers the idea that glasses are just as much about user interaction and accessorising as they are about visual aid and impairment reduction. There are, however, various other products in the making that have a much more specific purpose in mind while also being just as revolutionary.
Here are our top five picks of specs that are revolutionising the future of eyewear.
Multifocal Lenses
This concept is simple enough. A pair of glasses are fitted with inner and outer lenses, the outer with distance vision and the inner contains a liquid.
The idea is that by using a slider or button you can activate the inner liquid, changing the shape of the lens, and adjust the correction to whatever type of vision it is you need. After all, a single pair of glasses for all your needs sounds great, right?
The Workplace Lens by IceTech
During our lifetime, we spend roughly 90,000 hours working. In order to do our jobs to the best of our ability, we need to take care of our eyes.
For this reason, the clever people over at IceTech have designed ‘The Workplace Lens.” Many of us will experience problems including headaches, eye fatigue and stress due to overexerting our eyes while working.
For that reason, The Workplace Lens “provides wide and sharp fields of vision in the extended close-up range” in order to reduce these problems. And given the amount of time we all spend working, it’s sure to help that time be much less painful.
Block: Glasses to See Less by Tal Erez
Block Glasses are a statement about the increasing digitisation of our world by artist and designer Tal Erez. “It seems that wherever we turn our eyes, screens give us their wicked smiles. Block glasses enable us to see less. By turning the lenses we can switch off the screens around us and hope, at least for a moment, to see the real world.” These glasses are also open-code and have also been adapted to be manufactured and adjusted on your very own 3D printer (if you have one) with lenses available from your local optician.
DriveSafe Lenses by ZEISS
Driving in low light or difficult weather conditions can be extremely troublesome and unsafe for many people. With this in mind, ZEISS have come up with DriveSafe lenses.
Specifically designed to help reduce glare while driving at night, improve vision in difficult lighting conditions and maintain an accurate view of the road, dashboard and rear and side view mirrors. The lenses are adapted using Luminance Design® Technology so that changes in the size of your pupil are taken into account while driving.
Oxy-Iso Colour Correction Glasses by Vino/02Amp
These glasses are aimed at two types of people, 1) Those with colour deficiency and 2) those working with veins and blood i.e nurses and phlebotomists. These glasses are designed to correct and enhance colour perception while also enhancing the 02 signal from haemoglobin under the skin. This, in turn, amplifies the perception of veins under the skin making them an invaluable tool for those in the medical profession while also having the ability to change the life of those with colour deficiency.
Ranging from enhancing colour perception to increasing the safety of driving in difficult conditions, all of these glasses could well prove to be the foundations for further improvement in eyewear and eyesight in general. We’ll be sure to keep an eye on their progress!
Looking for something a little more fashionable? Check out our Top 5 Colour Coordinated Looks
