DeepOptics, inventor and a pioneer of novel adaptive lens technology, has unveiled its new product 32°N (read 32 North), the first-ever and only adaptive focus sunglasses on Kickstarter, already exceeding its funding target a few hours after release.
The new 32°N sunglasses enables different reading prescriptions - all in one pair of eyeglasses. It can dynamically correct for reading needs while also serving as a functional sunglasses. Mimicking natural human eyesight, 32°N allows its users to seamlessly switch between different needs such as "reading mode" for people with near-vision or a "scenic mode" for appreciating objects in the distance.
An Inevitable, Irreversible Visual Problem
Presbyopia refers to the gradual degradation of the eyes' ability to focus on nearby objects and comes as a result of aging. DeepOptics' 32°N eyeglasses eliminate the need to switch between different pairs of sunglasses and reading glasses. Additionally, it does this without the challenging compromises one would otherwise experience from the use of progressive lenses and bifocals. The revolutionary Kickstarter project immediately took off the ground, thanks to investors that include some of the largest and most progressive players in the eyewear and technology industries: Samsung Ventures and Essilor.
In a systematic review examining the global cases of presbyopia and vision impairment, as published in a 2018 issue of the Ophthalmology, there were as many as 1.8 billion people suffering from presbyopia back in 2015. Furthermore, about 826 people were at risk of developing vision impairment because of having inadequate vision correction, if any at all. Most people at risk of presbyopia are those over the age of 45 and only get worse with age. Additionally, the condition is currently irreversible and patients need to adopt multiple pairs of glasses for different purposes, especially when going outside. While technology has given us progressive lenses (multifocal lens) and bifocals, each solution still has their respective limitations.
At a time when the average person looks at their phone by as much as 58 times each day, imagine the tiring need to switch between sunglasses and reading glasses - and this is where 32°N comes in.
Addressing the Challenges of Presbyopia
"We are on a mission to improve human vision through dynamic optics," says DeepOptics co-founder and CEO Yariv Haddad, in a company press release. "Presbyopia is a problem that affects a great many people, for much of the time. 32°N is the first product of several on our roadmap." Haddad adds that the 32°N was specifically developed to create a "seamless technological solution" to a problem that has been hampering a lot of users.
"We believe the fastest way to get our tech into the hands of consumers who can benefit from it was crowdfunding on Kickstarter," the DeepOptics co-founder added.
The game-changing pair of sunglasses use pixelated liquid crystal layers split into tiny pixels that can rotate at virtually every point of the panel. With the swipe of a user, their action is read by the built-in processor embedded in the device's temple part. It then calculates the personal data of its wearer and sends that data to the rest of the panel, creating the desired lens prescription. This is achieved when the tiny pixels - millions of them - changing electrical states based on the data to form the needed lens specs, bringing the object into focus
Boasting complete silence and without the cumbersome extra weight, the DeepOptics LC lens creates an unlimited number of dynamic and high-quality lenses that can suit the wearer's needs.
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Published on Tech Times.
