My cousin told me she had the chance to try on a pair of Google Glasses the other day and she was wondering if they could be prescribed by an optometrist, just like prescription glasses.
Google Glasses are a form of “smart glasses”, which has features beyond regular eyeglasses. They can take pictures and videos, make phone calls, track different types of data in the form off web searches, and provide real time information. These functions can be turned on or off. You can compare this to an ordinary phone and “smart phone”. A smart phone can be used for much more than phone calls.
The current Google Glass frame is simple, with one style, but has several colour options. There are standard smart phone components added to it such as wifi, bluetooth, a camera, etc… Although current beta models do not support prescription lenses, future models will. They will likely have a frame manufacturer produce a separate magnetic attachment that will hold a patient’s prescription. I imagine it would be similar to the prescription inserts we add to certain wrap sunglasses for road biking that we carry. Optometrists could also have a role in making the device more user friendly, especially for those who need the display customized to compensate for a lazy eye. We may also need to work on educating people on how to decrease their eyestrain in these devices because of the constant change in focus from the near display to your environment in the distance.
I’m curious to see how this technology will take off in the next few years!
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