Glasses for the Next Generation

Tagged with augmented reality, eyeglasses, glasses, night vision on June 12, 2024

There are two types of glasses that I’m interested in. I’m not talking about prescription glasses, also called eyeglasses or spectacles. No, I’m talking about smart glasses, specifically augmented reality (AR) and night vision glasses. AR glasses are already available and night vision glasses are in the works, and should be available to the public in a year or so.

Augmented Reality Glasses

There’s more than one type, and the type I’m interested in can replace a computer monitor. Those available now are just a little too expensive for experimentation, costing $450 USD and up. I’ll consider buying a pair when I need a new computer monitor. By then, hopefully, they’ll be a little more affordable.

The Spacetop, an AR laptop, isn’t available yet. It doesn’t even come with a screen. Instead, there’s a pair of AR glasses stored inside the clamshell case.

The only thing I can imagine as being a bit disconcerting will be the fact that you can no longer turn away from the screen as it follows wherever your eyes go. You’ll have to remove the glasses to “disconnect”, which is the only term I can think of at the moment. Like current computer monitors, I’m sure they’ll cause you to get headaches when used for a long period of time.

Night Vision Glasses

This is something I’ve had experience with, but with military night vision goggles. I guess the G in NVG will stand for glasses instead of goggles eventually. Night vision, whether it’s goggles or glasses, makes everything appear like daytime. Sort of. Because of how the light is collected, everything has a green tint. No other colors at all.

The military applications should be obvious. The application that I’m interested in is night driving. I don’t know how far it will extend the vision, but the goggles I used in the military would give me a clear vision for up to 500 yards. The high beams on automotive headlights, I imagine, won’t be necessary when wearing them.

There are people who have difficulty driving at night, and I know a few, and these glasses should make things a bit easier. There has to be a way to reduce the glare from oncoming vehicles, or they’ll be almost worthless for night driving. I have no experience with that part and again, I imagine, it would be like seeing a car with headlights on in the daytime. At least, that’s what I hope.

Vision Correction

It seems like anything new, designed to augment vision, almost always ignores the people who require eyeglasses or contact lenses to correct their vision. If there isn’t a way to adjust the focus, extra steps will be required to take advantage of them. Binoculars have always had a way to focus each eyepiece, but I don’t think these glasses will have that kind of space available between multiple lenses.

It wouldn’t affect me since I had vision surgery in 2004. I’m actually thinking of everyone else it would affect.

Image by Ruibing Qin from Pixabay