Japanese smart eyewear company Vixion has been working on an innovative pair of eyeglasses that can adjust the focus of the lenses, thus helping wearers overcome both myopia and hyperopia.

Suffering from either shortsightedness or farsightedness is bad enough, but as we age, many of us have to deal with the symptoms of both conditions. That means trouble seeing details up-close and in the distance. Unfortunately, the only way to deal with this is to get two pairs of eyeglasses – one for reading and another for seeing distant things more clearly. Having two pairs of prescription glasses is not only expensive, but also cumbersome. You need to have both with you at all times and switch between as necessary. Luckily, a Japanese company is working on a pair of smart eyeglasses that can help you deal with both myopia and hyperopia.

The MWF prototype eyeglasses from Vixion, a startup specializing in smart eyewear, was recently featured on Japanese television and got quite a lot of attention. With the number of people dealing with shortsightedness or farsightedness later on in life and Japan’s fast-aging population, that’s hardly a surprise.

Although the details of the MWF eyeglasses work are a bit hard to figure out (due to the language barrier and limited information online), they basically rely on a built-in sensor to figure out what the wearer is looking at, and adjust the focus of the lenses accordingly, helping them see clearly at virtually any distance.

Apparently, the first time a person puts on the MWF eyeglasses, they need to manually calibrate them by turning a dial built into the frame. Once that’s done, whenever the viewer changes the viewing direction, the glasses are able to figure out what the wearer is looking at and adjust the focus of the lenses.

A Japanese reporter recently tested the MWF eyeglasses and reported that they work as intended, meaning they detect the direction of view and adjust lens focus to make things clearer to see, whether they be up close or in the distance. The report didn’t mention how long it takes for the eyeglasses to pick up what you’re looking at and change focus, just that it works as advertised.

 

As you can imagine, a lot of people are excited about Vixion’s prototype, but they’ll, unfortunately, have to wait a while until a commercial version becomes available, as the MWF is still in the testing phase. It’s definitely promising, I will say that.

Interestingly, another Japanese company has developed a pair of smart glasses that can allegedly cure myopia.