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People with low vision sometimes use glasses that are a little similar to this but are actual bifocals. The bottom component is ordinary glasses while the top c

by pxc 2y ago

People with low vision sometimes use glasses that are a little similar to this but are actual bifocals. The bottom component is ordinary glasses while the top component is telescopic. The telescopic component's focus can be changed, but it's manual. With special training, such glasses can allow¹ people who are otherwise too visually impaired to qualify for a driver's license to receive a limited driver's license with special training. Glasses like those in TFA might be easier for drivers to adapt to, and their autofocus mechanisms might also be reusable for proper bioptic lenses, if that proves to be better for driving for one reason or another (i.e., some people actually need magnification, not just differentiated focus). I imagine if the manufacturer ever gets approval for such uses, those customers won't care too much what the glasses look like. -- 1: https://www.webmd.com/eye-health/what-to-know-about-driving-with-bioptic-lenses https://www.webmd.com/eye-health/what-to-know-about-driving-...

jdietrich 2y ago
Ocutech make an autofocus bioptic, which uses a time-of-flight sensor. https://www.ocutech.com/ocutech-bioptics-products-overview/keplerian/ves-falcon-autofocus-bioptic/ https://www.ocutech.com/ocutech-bioptics-products-overview/k...
- tdeck 2y ago
  Interesting to see Ocutech pop up on HN! I've used one of their manual ones for years and it made a huge difference for me in being able to view presentations and lectures while also taking notes. However, the experience is not like traditional bifocals, it's like having a small telescope stuck to your glasses (because of course that's what it is). The telescope has a relatively narrow field of view as you'd expect, and is only visible to one eye. Frankly I don't understand how folks can use these while driving or moving around.
  - mbreese 2y ago
    As far as I know, the main use while driving is reading signs, so the rest of your vision is good enough to drive, but you might need the bioptic to read a street sign for navigating. I never really thought of them for lectures, but that’s not a bad idea. However, in an era of smartphones, having a ready telephoto zoom (digital or optical) in your pocket is also quite handy. (Not that it would help while driving!)
    - tdeck 2y ago
      You're absolutely right about the cell phone thing; I use my phone for things like reading distant signs (while mostly stationary) and reading restaurant menus that are posted on the wall (I probably have taken hundreds of such pictures). Using the phone to watch videos or keep up with whiteboard exercises would be challenging without a tripod to hold the phone and probably a custom camera app that lets you quickly pan a live zoomed image. I've always found it hard to quickly locate distant objects in my ocutech though given the limited FOV, and doing it at driving speed must require a lot of deliberate practice.

by pxc 2y ago

jdietrich 2y ago

Ocutech make an autofocus bioptic, which uses a time-of-flight sensor. https://www.ocutech.com/ocutech-bioptics-products-overview/keplerian/ves-falcon-autofocus-bioptic/ https://www.ocutech.com/ocutech-bioptics-products-overview/k...

tdeck 2y ago
Interesting to see Ocutech pop up on HN! I've used one of their manual ones for years and it made a huge difference for me in being able to view presentations and lectures while also taking notes. However, the experience is not like traditional bifocals, it's like having a small telescope stuck to your glasses (because of course that's what it is). The telescope has a relatively narrow field of view as you'd expect, and is only visible to one eye. Frankly I don't understand how folks can use these while driving or moving around.
- mbreese 2y ago
  As far as I know, the main use while driving is reading signs, so the rest of your vision is good enough to drive, but you might need the bioptic to read a street sign for navigating. I never really thought of them for lectures, but that’s not a bad idea. However, in an era of smartphones, having a ready telephoto zoom (digital or optical) in your pocket is also quite handy. (Not that it would help while driving!)
  - tdeck 2y ago
    You're absolutely right about the cell phone thing; I use my phone for things like reading distant signs (while mostly stationary) and reading restaurant menus that are posted on the wall (I probably have taken hundreds of such pictures). Using the phone to watch videos or keep up with whiteboard exercises would be challenging without a tripod to hold the phone and probably a custom camera app that lets you quickly pan a live zoomed image. I've always found it hard to quickly locate distant objects in my ocutech though given the limited FOV, and doing it at driving speed must require a lot of deliberate practice.