This is going to be a very poorly-sighted world eventually. A huge portion of our population has been staring at computer screens since childhood, meaning two things: eye damage will be incredibly widespread since done by even the looking at a screen for a minimal amount of time, as it adds up over several decades; and optometry will become a very lucrative field (pay attention, millennials). One concept aims to fight back against the oncoming myopia epidemic.

The i-Free is a clip-on digital lens meant to help “weak-sighted” people view their computer screen without glasses or contacts. The idea is quite simple: instead of wearing glasses or contacts, this lens would be auto-corrective in order to produce images to fit your corrective lens prescription. A touch control system would allow you to slide its corrective powers along a nearsighted/farsighted spectrum.

The execution, however, is what may raise questions. The necessary technology for the i-Free isn’t explained at all in the idea’s description renderings, so it may be an idea for a while. But it certainly would be nice to comfortably view your device’s screen while at the same time fighting blindness.

The post For Sore Eyes: Concept Allows Glasses-Free Computer Use first appeared on Gajitz.

The eye is an extremely complex organ – no matter what species of animal. The human eye is sensitive enough to recognize more than 500 shades of grey. Our depth of field is excellent, but we lack the wide-angle range of the eyes of a fly. A hybrid human/fly eye was inevitable.

Associate Professor of biomedical engineering and ophthalmology at Ohio State University, Yi Zhao has come up with an experimental lens that would combine the depth of field capabilities of the human eye with the wide-angle capabilities of an insect eye. “Our eye can change focus. An insect eye is made of many small optical components that can’t change focus but give a wide view. We can combine the two,” says Zhao. “What we get is a wide-angle lens with depth of field.”

The lens can be applied to many different fields of technology, from laparoscopy and microscopes to smartphone cameras. Its ability to correct focus by altering its shape could also give surgeons more confidence. With delicate procedures such as tumor removal, it will allow them a wide-angle view while easily gauging the proximity of lens to tissue. It’s another great example of how biomimicry can change our view of the world – quite literally.

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These innocent-looking little clips could revolutionize the way we snap mobile pictures with our phones and other devices. Known as the Mobi-Lens, these tiny devices are powerhouse lenses in a smallish package.

The clips fit over the built-in camera lens of almost any mobile device, which in itself is pretty special considering that most cool phone camera accessories are exclusively for iPhones. They even work on laptops and some digital cameras.

Using the clips, you can take pictures with a wide angle effect, a macro super-close-up, or a fisheye look. The wide angle and macro are combined on one lens while the fisheye is a separate lens.

The team behind Mobi-Lens is trying to take their idea to the next level by raising money on Kickstarter for a production run.

The post Simple Clip-On Lenses Enhance Mobile Phone Photography first appeared on Gajitz.

Getting vision correction to people in developing nations is a challenge not only because glasses are expensive, but because getting to an optometrist is not always possible. Designers have come up with all sorts of elegant solutions to get glasses to people who need them but don’t have access through traditional channels. Eyejusters is a pretty inventive, if slightly funny-looking, way to get vision correction without an optometrist.

The method works in kind of the same way as that big lens thing the optometrist puts in front of your face and asks “Better 1, or 2?” Basically, there are two special lenses on each side of the glasses that slide across each other as you twist the adjustment knobs. You stop twisting when the focal range looks correct to you.

The glasses aren’t super-stylish, but for people who don’t normally have access to glasses they could be life-changing. They’re available even if you don’t live in a developing country; Eyejusters Self-Adjustable Readers are reading glasses that let you pick the prescription and adjust it for different activities.

The post Pick Your Prescription: Revolutionary Adjustable Glasses first appeared on Gajitz.