Breakthroughs
Though much of the science and technology exists today in some shape or form, several major engineering breakthroughs will be required to make this device a reality.
Electro-adjustable Crystal Lens (Pockels Cell)
The crystal in the lens exists today and works effectively in commercial applications. However, it is very expensive, and a major breakthrough is needed to convert it into a mass-produced consumer product.
Microprocessor
Microprocessor technology today is not advanced enough to power a technology like iGlasses. It must advance to the point where miniaturized processors can crunch massive amounts of data in real time to determine the refraction of the lenses and operate the augmented vision capability.
Sensors
The sensors and scanners we will use exist today. However, these technologies are currently too large and expensive to fit into one pair of glasses. Again, the challenge is to miniaturize these technologies, and build them all into a feasible consumer project.
Section Summary
Several engineering advances are required to make this device a reality:
- Crystal lens that is adjustable with an electric current
- More powerful microprocessors to process data in real time
- Minitiarized sensors and components to be embedded in the iGlasses