A National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU)-led international research team has developed the world’s first electronically tunable liquid crystal (LC) glasses, enabling wearers to adjust prescriptions without switching to new lenses for additional diopters.
The project was led by NYCU photonics professor Lin Yi-hsin (林怡欣), in collaboration with the University of Leeds, the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and Innolux Corp (群創). It was funded by the National Science and Technology Council and supported by Google.
After two decades of research, the team created the first LC gradient index (GRIN) lenses suitable for mass production, the council said, adding that up to 36 electronic liquid crystal lenses can be fabricated simultaneously on a single glass substrate.
Photo courtesy of the National Science and Technology Council
Conventional liquid crystal lenses have proven impractical, as they typically have poor imaging quality due to limits in the refractive index, excessive lens thickness or lack of continuous adjustability, the council said.
By contrast, LC GRIN lenses allow continuous focusing and electronic correction of imaging without introducing color distortion, it said.
Lin said that myopia rates in many Asian countries have reached 80 percent, and many people with nearsightedness develop farsightedness after the age of 40, highlighting the potential benefits of the new technology.
Photo courtesy of the National Science and Technology Council
Glasses today are typically made with multilayered plastic or glass lenses, meaning people with nearsightedness and farsightedness often need two separate pairs, Lin said.
Alternatively, they could use bifocal lenses, but those require wearers to adjust their angle or posture — such as lowering the head and looking upward — to bring objects into focus, she said.
By contrast, LC GRIN lenses allow users with both conditions to see clearly through electronically controlled focus adjustments, eliminating the need to change angles or postures. Prescriptions can also be programmed and updated as needed, she said.
The prototype lens, encased in glass, weighs about 10g, which could be further reduced by using plastic materials, Lin said.
While the current glasses frame houses circuit boards and appears bulky, applying integrated circuits could significantly shrink its size, she said.
The design is ready for commercialization and mass production, with the timeline depending on manufacturers’ rollout plans, she added.
Beyond eyewear, LC GRIN lens technology also has applications in head-mounted devices for augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), she said.
Current AR and VR headsets require users with nearsightedness or farsightedness to wear their glasses, but LC GRIN lenses would allow prescriptions to be adjusted directly within the device, she added.
The technology could also be applied to cameras in robots or drones to enhance the accuracy of geospatial modeling, she said.
The project’s techniques have been patented, and with Taiwan’s well-developed display panel and LC industries, many Chinese vendors have expressed interest in commercializing the technology, Lin said.
However, the team hopes to keep the technology in Taiwan to help diversify and strengthen the nation’s panel and LC sectors, she said.
The findings were published last month in the international journal Physical Review Applied and reported by the American Physical Society, showing that Taiwan’s innovations in liquid crystal optics have gained significant international recognition, the council said.
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