Electronic glasses make life easier for Crossville man

Electronic glasses make life easier for Crossville man

By LORI TUCKER
6 News Anchor/Reporter

CROSSVILLE (WATE) - Glasses have been around for centuries, but now researchers have come up with eyeglasses that focus electronically.

It's a real optical breakthrough that's light years ahead of traditional glasses. 

The electronic spectacles are called emPower. Users are now charging their new eyeglasses each night right along with their iPhones and iPads.

Sam Zielazienski has come to Eye centers of Tennessee in Crossville for an eye exam to see how well he's adapting to the new glasses he got a month ago.

"I think they're a great thing," he said. "I'm just getting used to wearing glasses all day long, which I'm not used to right now."

Sam only needs glasses for reading, but he grew tired of constantly putting them on and taking them off.

Now he wears his new glasses all the time because they're able to electronically turn the reading part of the lens on and off when needed.

"When you swipe the lens, you can tilt your head down and the near vision will come in automatically. And then when you raise your head back up, it goes away. So there's an automatic and manual feature that goes with it," explained Scott McClure with PixelOptics.

You'd never know it by looking at them, but the emPower glasses have tiny batteries, microchips and other types of electronics that work with liquid crystals built into the bottom of the lenses. 

They'll keep a battery charge for two to three days.

The glasses, made by PixelOptics in Roanoke, Virginia, are 20 to 30% more expensive than most high-end eyewear.

Sam says the added cost is worth it. "I like the idea. As a matter of fact, I'm thinking about getting a set for the wife here in the future because she's got these bifocal things and they're driving her nuts."

Right now, 36 frames are available and, as you might imagine, the market for emPower glasses isn't for the really young, but more the young at heart.

Eye Centers of Tennessee in Crossville is among the first to offer the new glasses. They're also available in Knoxville. Just check with your local eye care practice.