Glasses

While there are assistive systems that are mounted on the computer itself, HiiDii utilizes something that the user might be wearing anyway – glasses.

Project the equivalent of a 200-inch, high resolution screen a few meters in front of your eyes, and work with PCs, mobile devices and games consoles.

Arguably the thing that killed Google Glass was how dorky they looked. Whether or not that’s the real reason AR glasses never took off, it’s the story that other companies always push while marketing new devices that fit smarts into normal-looking frames. And the latest is the new Norm Glasses.

Presbyopia is a common form of age-induced far-sightedness. Now a Stanford team has developed a pair of high-tech specs called autofocals, which use fluid-filled lenses, depth-sensing cameras and eye-tracking technology to make sure whatever a wearer is looking at stays sharp.

Goggles, glasses and windshield can fog up if there’s a difference in temperature or humidity. Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a new anti-fog coating that warms up the surface without needing electricity.

​Eye-tracking systems certainly would add a lot to augmented reality glasses, but their integration into such eyewear has been limited because they require so much power. That said, scientists have now developed eye-tracking glasses powered by nothing but onboard solar cells.

We've written about electronically adaptive eye-glasses that can switch between everyday and reading modes at the touch of a button before, but nothing has made it to the wider market yet. So this Japanese company's TouchFocus design might be the first to get the concept up and running.

​Some serious cyclists have taken to using breathing strips or even stents to hold their nostrils open, in order to increase the amount of air that they're able to take in through their nose. Well, a new set of cycling glasses does the same thing, but using magnets.

While we've had phone-powered virtual reality headsets like Samsung's Gear VR or Google's Daydream View for several years now, no one's yet done the same for augmented reality. Enter the Mira Prism, a $99 pair of AR glasses that runs from an iPhone.

In order for AR glasses to become a mainstream tool, they need to be capable, comfortable and compact enough to be worn on the face while accommodating for the inherent complexities of human vision. Judging from a new prototype, Microsoft researchers are making important strides in that direction.

​The past several years have brought us a number of sunglasses with built-in video cameras, and the concept is kind of clever. Unfortunately, though, many people don't like the thought of users recording them without their knowledge. Well, that's where Omni Wearables' FaceShot glasses come in.

It can be a hassle, taking your glasses on and off to switch between near and distant vision. That's why scientists from the University of Utah have developed glasses that change focus automatically, depending on what you're looking at.​