A group of scientists from the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore established a new system to cover the lenses of eyeglasses that will prevent the condensation of fog, which is capable of cleaning itself and has anti-reflective properties. The result is anti-reflective lenses that don’t fog up and clean themselves.

This new eyeglass treatment promises to end both problems simultaneously. According to Chen Zhong, one of the authors of the discovery, explained: “Our team has demonstrated a method that is quick to apply, within an hour, that produces long-lasting results, demonstrating its potential for a wide range of practical applications.”

Zhong stressed that there are different products on the market, in sprays or wipes, anti-fog, but their effectiveness “are temporary and have limited effectiveness” having to be applied constantly for them to have an effect.

The method combines various materials

The research allowed the development of a method that works on polycarbonate lenses. According to the procedure, the first step is to treat the plastic with oxygen plasma, a substance used to clean the surfaces, which improves adherence. Subsequently and by means of “a pulsed laser, they cover the lens with a thin film that has two layers: one of silicon dioxide and the other of titanium dioxide“, the concentrated laser makes it easier to vaporize the excess material and reaches a film of the desired thickness.

Likewise, the use of “titanium dioxide” allows the lenses to clean themselves because it has photocatalytic capacity and when exposed to ultraviolet sunlight, it reacts with organic residues, eliminating them.

Laboratory experiments showed that the new coating is well suited to breaking down bacteria and dirt on the lens surface after exposure to sunlight throughout the day. Additionally, the researchers highlighted that the “system makes the crystals anti-reflective”, facilitating greater clarity in vision.

Innovation in the market

The group of researchers are waiting to be granted the “patent for this method and are looking for collaborators to bring the innovation to the market.” Likewise, the scientists consider that their system “would also be very useful in industrial applications of different optical components, such as surveillance cameras.”

Sun Ye, lead author of the discovery, said: “The results obtained demonstrate the multifunctionality of our coating. It is anti-reflective, anti-fog and self-cleaning. He explained that the manufacturing method is fast, easy and durable” when compared to other “anti-fog methods that usually end up in coatings with limited functions.”

M. Rodríguez

Source: elconfidencial.com

La entrada Scientists create self-cleaning lens material apareció primero en Bitfinance.

Xiaomi presented its Xiaomi Smart Glasses, a new smart wearable device that is capable of adopting the imaging system and sensors in a subtle and ordinary glasses design through MicroLED optical waveguide technology. Although for now it is only a concept, the presentation video of these glasses generates an idea of ​​what the company is capable of.

The lenses weigh just 51g and are 2.4mm x 2.02mm thick and have a peak brightness of 2 million nits. “They have optical waveguide technology, so that the light is projected only towards the person wearing the lenses.”

 Xiaomi Smart Glasses can show messages and notifications, make calls, navigate, capture photos and translate text right before your eyes and although it can be connected to the smartphone, the company has been emphatic in pointing out that it is not a second screen of the phone and they have autonomy and proper functions.

In addition, they come with a 5 MP camera, which allows you to take photos and translate the text instantly, which can be sent or shared with other devices. Using the smart glasses it will not be necessary to review the road navigation instructions in an external GPS since it will be possible to observe which steps to follow to get to each place.

All these features are possible because the glasses are equipped with an ARM processor with 4 cores, “Wi-Fi modules, bluetooth, autonomous battery and Android operating system”. These glasses demonstrate the growth that the Chinese company has been obtaining in the West with this type of gadget.

M. Rodríguez

Source: tekcrispy.com

La entrada Xiaomi presents its Smart Glasses apareció primero en Bitfinance.