The day when you will no longer need your glasses to watch TV is looming, thanks to some very clever people at MIT and Berkeley.
Researchers have developed new display technology that corrects vision problems and adjusts the image to suit the users’ poor eyesight.
The technology works by using algorithms that alter an image based on a person’s glasses prescription, combined with a light filter set in front of the display. The algorithm alters the light from each individual pixel and passes it through a small hole in the filter, so when each ray of light hits the retina, it creates a sharper image.
The idea is that the technology will predict how the users’ eyes will distort whatever is on screen and correct it beforehand (which your glasses normally do), so the image appears clear to your eyes.
Researchers tested out the technology on an Apple iPod Touch, which they attached the plastic light filter and an acrylic slab to. They then used a DSLR camera’s focus options to simulate far-sightedness and short-sightedness.
Similar technology is being developed elsewhere but the researchers claim that their technology doesn’t result in a dramatic loss in image contrast. This system reportedly achieves better contrast and resolution.
The research team hopes that the technology will be both commercially useful but also have positive health implications. Leading the project, Professor Brian Barsky of the University of California said : “We now live in a world where displays are ubiquitous, and being able to interact with displays is taken for granted.
“People with higher order aberrations often have irregularities in the shape of the cornea, and this irregular shape makes it very difficult to have a contact lens that will fit. In some cases, this can be a barrier to holding certain jobs because many workers need to look at a screen as part of their work. This research could transform their lives, and I am passionate about that potential.
The research team hope that they will be able to refine the technology and slim it down to a piece of plastic that can be stuck onto any existing display, while software could be adapted to different operating systems.
However this is all still a few years off, and there are major hurdles to overcome. Not least that fact that it won’t work if multiple sets of eyes are looking at the screen and the users have to stay in one position for it to work.
Display Revolution
Samsung, LG and Nokia are all pumping money into display research. We’ve already seen demos of changing, borderless and foldable displays this year - with more expected at IFA in September and CES next year.
LG recently announced earlier this month a rollable plastic OLEd displays and an 18-inch transparent OLED display. LG hopes that it will be able to combine the two new technologies and launch a TV that’s both rollable and transparent by 2017. Byung Kang, senior vice president of LG, said “ We are confident that by 2017 we will successfully develop an Ultra HD flexible and transparent OLED panel of more than 60 inches, which will have transmittance of more than 40% and a curvature radius of 100R”.
