Electronic Eyeglasses for Those Aging in the Digital Age

If you’re one of the many who wear prescription eyeglasses with bifocal or progressive lenses, your life could soon become much simpler thanks to a company called PixelOptics.

In June, the Roanoke, Va., company will start selling its emPower eyeglasses, electronic eye-ware that lets wearers switch between differing prescriptions–one for close-up reading and one for distance viewing.

The glasses use a thin layer of liquid crystals sandwiched between two plastic layers. Electric current from a built-in rechargeable battery alters the focal power of the lens sandwich in the blink of an eye. (And a six to eight hour charge can run the emPower for more than three days.)

PixelOptic’s emPower line of glasses will be rolled out to professional eyecare specialists one region at a time, starting with Virginia and North Carolina in June. But PixelOptics envisions they could be nationwide by the end of the year.

The high-tech specs won’t be cheap–about $1,000 to $1,200 per pair of emPowers. Still, pricey electronic eyeglasses can be a convenient alternative for those with qualms over corrective surgery with lasers.

Bye bifocals! New specs change focus [CNN]