Researchers at MIT and Berkeley have solved a problem that everyone who wears glasses or contacts will like. They've figured out a way to tweak the image that's displayed by your computer screen or flat panel TV, such that the image looks perfect when you view it, no eye wear needed.
All In One
Essentially then, the view screen performs the same function as your glasses, while still performing its usual function as the display device. It predicts how your eye needs to have the image bent and distorted in order for you to see it correctly, based on your prescription.
Plenty Of Ifs, Ands And Buts
Note, however, that this is by no means a perfect solution. There are limitations that will need to be taken into account. For example, some means of turning this feature off will need to be built into the technology, in case you happen to be wearing your glasses, or if someone other than you borrows your computer. Unless that person has exactly the same vision as you, then the display will look awful for them.
Also, this technology is only useful if you're looking at the screen without your glasses on and you're by yourself. If you're watching TV with others, unless they have the exact same eyesight as you do, and none of you are wearing your glasses, the screen will look abnormal, and depending on your uncorrected vision, may not even be watchable by your guests.
None of this is to suggest that the technology isn't groundbreaking. It definitely is, and for certain, specific cases it is, or can be, extremely handy. It's just that having said that, there are at least as many instances, if not more, that the tech will actually work against itself as when it might be a benefit.
A Blind Alley?
The potential for the tech to be a great niche product is unquestioned. There are plenty of computer users who also wear glasses, and for many of us, glasses are inconvenient when trying to read something on a view screen. Having the view screen make on the fly corrections for us is amazingly useful, no doubt. Will you find this technology in all displays and TV's? Almost certainly not. It's just too specialized and too limited to have mass market appeal. Those who need it will really get a lot out of it, and those who don't won't even give it a second look.
There is however something very interesting that has grown out of a band of related research and that is the flexible screen. This does have mass market appeal, and in fact, has been a science fiction staple for the past several decades.
Imagine a sixty inch TV that you could simply roll up like a piece of paper and toss in the back seat, as opposed to having to lug a bulky TV set around. That's what flexible display technology will allow for, and is a tech created by a related bit of research. It just goes to show that when you start down one research road, you might end up at an interesting and profitable destination that you never anticipated.
As ever, what both of these new technologies reveal is that the pace of change is accelerating all around us, with no end in sight; forgive the pun!
