TruFocals eyeglasses

As people get older, their eyesight starts to decline, and I'm no exception. I was considering bifocals or progressive lenses until I was contacted by TruFocals, a company that makes a new type of eyeglass with adjustable focus. It sounded interesting, so I sent them my prescription. A week later I got a pair of circular lensed John Lennon-ish spectacles. They have a little slider on the bridge that I can move with with my finger to change the focus. When the slider is to the right, I can see fine print, and when the slider is to the left I can drive and watch movies. With the slider in-between, I can get crystal clear vision at any distance. They work very well. If you aren't dissuaded by the $895 price tag, they might be just what you are looking for. Visit the TruFocals website for more information. Above: a video I made of the TruFocals in action. Learn more about how they work at the link below.

Mark Frauenfelder is the founder of Boing Boing and the editor-in-chief of MAKE and Cool Tools. Twitter: @frauenfelder. Come and hear Mark speak at the ALA conference in Chicago on July 1.

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simonbarsinister

Does it come in a Geordi-style wrap-around?
Can I have a second slider that adjusts the electromagnetic frequency that is visible?
Anonymous

Can we see them on you, Mark?
SamM

I am always amused at the number of people who are willing to make comments on-line about something they have never seen. In fact, in many cases, they never even bother to go to the web site to check something out before pontificating.

Before you sound off. Go to the web site, read how they work. Then go to the User Blog and see what people who wear them have to say.

I have been wearing TruFocals for about six months now. A few comments:

1. The focussing is very quick and very natural. It quickly becomes automatic. You DON”T refocus all the time. You can usually set a focus distance that works great for the task at hand (working on the computer, sitting around a conference table, driving, etc.) and just leave it there. The key is that you can focus the entire lens to ANY distance you want and re-focus only when you change tasks.

2. The front lenses that contain your distance prescription are interchangeable. You can snap off clear ones and snap on sunglass lenses. For me, one pair of glasses has replaced five. That makes the price VERY attractive.

3. These have almost nothing in common with Josh Silver’s glasses for the third world. Those are rudimentary set-once single correction glasses. These are the ONLY variable-focus glasses in the world. They are very rugged and super high-quality. I have not seen this clearly since I was 10.

4. The styling was done by an internationally known design firm. Some people hate the look, but I get a LOT of complements.
JFox

TruFocals website is quite instructive. The front most lens is held on by tiny magnets. They can be exchanged with optional lenses with tint. These are basically your distance correction. The innermost group is the variable portion and has a liquid-filled meniscus that mimics the natural lens in your eye.

Care instructions are provided and I have not found cleaning to be all that burdensome. Obviously there is more there to care for, in the several weeks that I have worn them I mostly have kept the inner and outer surface clean with a gentle cleaning with a microfiber cloth and once in a while a puff of canned air on the flexible, inner lens.

There are many applications for them, as illustrated on the site. Just imagine the pilot with instruments above as well as below- bifocals are a real pain in the neck. And golfers can optimize their vision for addressing the ball.

Vision issues can frustrate many aspects of ‘just living’ even if you have no need for these you might know someone that could benefit from them. I certainly have!
Tensegrity

Soldiers would probably refer to these as BCD.
cellocgw

May I recommend instead “AirOptix” multifocal contact lenses? I’m a very happy user of these. I’ve worn contacts since the 70s. I started to need reading glasses (over my contacts) about 5 yrs ago, then got some AirOptix. I have near-perfect correction at all distances, and can read/use the computer just fine except in very dim light.
And, of course, should you need lens replacement (e.g. for cataracts), there are multifocal implants which apparently work pretty well.

Carl
disclaimer: no connection whatsoever w/ CibaVision
Anonymous

Um if you get crystal clear vision at any distance with the slider in between then… why the slider?
Anonymous

The video you made might have led to more positive reactions if you’d walked over to the globe and focused on it, right? That would demonstrate what seems actually valuable about this invention, i.e. it corrects near- as well as far-sightedness in a different way than bifocals do, which seems pretty cool and very steam-punk to me. The pricetag of the thing is irrelevant (it’d have to come down within range for anybody to actually buy them).
Anonymous

My vision seems to shift from day to day. One day the rx glasses I have ($325) work fine, the next it’s all a blur. If it continues, these might not sound so extravagant. They need a bifocal capability though.
- SamM
  
  Everyone’s vision changes through the day as well as from day-to-day. I used to notice this when I got in the car to drive first thing in the morning. Things simply were not as sharp as they should be.
  
  TruFocals have corrected that problem for me. You simply move the slider till things pop into perfect focus. It might be a little different setting at 3PM than it was at 9AM, but you are completely unaware of this.
Joe

As we get older our eyes tend to become more inflexible. A common problem with glasses that have a single prescription throughout is that if you’re attending a talk and taking notes, if your focus is right to see the projected slides or the board, it’s wrong for seeing your laptop or note pad. You can’t quickly shift your focus back and forth. That’s why I finally broke down and got progressives.

But the described glasses would require you to make a manual adjustment every time you shift your gaze! And they want $895 for that.
franko

i love everything about them but the price. at that price point, i won’t be able to get such a thing in this lifetime. i’m crossing my fingers for the next one, though.
alllie

They look wonderful, except for the price.

I don’t understand why they cost so much. An Oxford professor invented something similar which he said would cost Â£6 a pair. http://www.samizdata.net/blog/archives/002697.html

Why do these cost so much more.
- jerwin
  
  The Silver glasses aren’t quite as stylish as the TruFocals, particularly if you leave the syringes on– which you would have to do to get the constant adjustability of the Trufocals.
GuabaMan

Amazing! how do they work?
Anonymous

I could see these as being pretty handy for when I want to sit down and read a book. My glasses are fine for general use, or computing, but when I’m reading it’s hard to focus on the book without holding it at arms length. I used to read with my glasses off, but over the years the distance I can see clearly without glasses has decreased to about 8 inches, which is not comfortable either. Being able to move a slider and read comfortably would be a blessing – I’d probably read more often.

Unfortunately that price puts them out of reach to me, so I’ll continue to read uncomfortably for the foreseeable future.
inkfumes

I pair of prescription glasses with nice italian aluminum frames and transition, scratch free lenses ran me about $695. of course I had health insurance at the time. The cost for these glasses seems reasonable considering they are the FREAKING COOLEST GLASSES IVE EVER SEEN.
Nelson.C

From a design point of view, I’d prefer the control to be on the ear-rest, though that would be hard to do through the hinge, I’ll admit. On the other hand, I’ve always wanted a pair of John Lennon frames. The gripping hand is that the price needs to come way down.
Anonymous

Saw this on Tomorrows World in the 60′s! That’s a LONG lead time.
Anonymous

I want these, now. Too bad they’re only available up to -9 diopters. I hope they will become available for people are more nearsighted.
jellyfisher

I think I am in love. No, the round shape won’t look good on everyone’s face, but….

I don’t have lots of money, but when I buy glasses, I buy without regard to price. I wear and use them for every waking moment of my life for several years. I figure whatever I spend for clear, comfortable vision will be worth the investment.

Now, if only I could get this on my intraocular lens implant….
JFox

I agree with SamM and I am also a TruFocals wearer. I have a neurological defcit that has caused me to have some difficulty controlling my eyes. The TruFocals have been a real blessing for me in conducting my everyday activities. These are well designed, very usable and humane products. Plenty of jokes posted here from no- nothing comedians. I want to add to SamM’s reasonable praise.
Anonymous

Now they just need a servo motor, infra-red distance sensor, a camera to check focus on the retina and a microprocessor.
IamInnocent

I do pretty much the same thing by pushing my glasses a little further on my nose…
Dig Duggler

You know, I make a lot of money selling crap like this. What do you say we go into business together?
cjp

This company is one technological step behind. How about a similar pair of bi-prescription glasses that adjusts automatically as you tilt your head down to read? Buttons are so 2009.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20008391-1.html

“…PixelOptics is taking it further. The company also has added sensors to the specs that allow them to adjust to different settings automatically. Look down to read a book and the frames become reading glasses. Look back up and they’re back to normal.”
amuderick

I have a pair of Polaroid sunglasses from their prototype lab…when you slide the slider they go from clear to jet black…adjustable sunglasses. Super fun. And with sweet huge aviator frames.
classic01

I’m wearing right now a really nice pair of glasses with anti scratch, and anti reflective coating that cost me only $3 a pair at costalcontacts.com.

In fact I have more than 20 prescription glasses that I bought from zennioptical.com and other websites. All 20 glasses including a couple of prescription sunglasses didn’t cost me more than $200.

I’d rather spend $12 on really nice trendy glasses than spend almost one grand on these dorky round glasses. For that price they should look like you actually spent $900 on them!
dainel

I can read down to 1 feet with my glasses (used to be 8 inches, but I’m getting older), 4 inches without (I am near sighted).

With my degree of nearsightedness, I don’t expect I’ll ever need glasses to read things at around 1 feet. So I will just take off my glasses to read books.

My alternative plan is to make two pair of glasses. One pair with the left eye for near vision, and the right eye for far vision. And the other pair, the other way around.

Years ago, when I was around 30 years old, I tried using contacts. (I stopped cause they weren’t comfortable in air conditioned offices (dry eyes), and I got tired of cleaning them). When I was using them, I used to wear only one lens. Some days on the right eye, some days on the left. This gave the other eye more time to rest/”breath”. And I never had any problem with using only one eye.
ShowMeLibrarian

I’ve never been so excited about the thought of one day needing bifocals!! I mean, these babies are amazing!!

The fluid inside makes me curious, though. Do you have to be extra careful with them so you don’t break membranes and such? I’m not exactly gentle on my unifocal glasses now.
- SamM
  
  I am hard on glasses. I am always dropping them or doing nasty things to them. I have been surprised at how rugged TruFocals are. According to an article in Scientific American NASA has run extensive testing on them and expects to get them for the astronauts.
  
  http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=nasa-adjustable-astronaut-eyewear
Orchestra Spy

$500 on a pair of black SALT optics is much coin as I was willing to drop last summer when I got my pair of reading glasses. These slider glasses seem cool enough but not really my style. I haven’t seen glasses with that sort of slider feature, that’s pretty neat. I vouldn’t vear zeze to look like Lennon, I vould vear zem to look like somesing much more diabolical.
Darren Garrison

I’m guessing– it it two pairs of lenses, one pair threaded so that moving the slider rotates the lens and moves it closer to/further from the other pair? Making the round shape necessary, not a fashion statement?
Pipenta

Had I the cash, I would get a pair. I’d dearly love to be able to shift focus like that.

I did splurge last year on a pair of Rx Julbo glacier glasses, which are very nifty round sunglasses with leather flaps on the side. I got them because they were super functional (I’ve got an unusual retina condition and I try to protect my eyes.) but the steampunk (yes, I said it) look is a bonus.

If these become so crazy popular that the price comes down, I’m certainly going to get a pair.
sic transit gloria C.F.A.

The obligatory:

Frickin’ lenses, how do they work?
SamM

CJP:
The whole point of TruFocals is that you focus the entire lens to exactly the distance you need for any particular task. When you look at the computer screen, you see the entire screen in perfect sharp focus. There are no other glasses in the world that can do this.

I don’t want glasses that try to focus on their own, or that focus when I move my head. It would absolutely drive me crazy. I want to be able to focus to exactly the right distance for the task at hand. Focussing with the slider quickly becomes unconscious and intuitive. You don’t even think about it.

What PixelOptics is working on is NOT focussing glasses. According to their web site, they are working on progressive lenses in which the little close vision portion of the lens can be switched on and off. Frankly, I am not sure I see the point. Why would I want this, when I can so easily focus the ENTIRE lens to ANY distance — not just the three distances built into a progressive lens?