Get All Access for $5/mo

Take a Look: Researchers Aim to Create Vision-Correcting Displays Have trouble seeing? No worries. A team of university researchers is developing displays that can adjust itself depending on your prescription.

By Nina Zipkin

If you wear glasses or contacts, you'll want to get a look at this.

When we were kids, our parents told us not to sit too close to the TV screen, because it would ruin our eyes. Today, thanks to scientists at the University of California at Berkeley, and MIT, watching television -- or your computer or smartphone -- could actually help you see better.

That's right. The researchers have developed a display technology that adjusts for "refractive errors in the eye," that are usually fixed with glasses, contacts and surgery. Instead of glasses, the correcting effect comes from your screen, which uses an algorithm to make the image appear as if at the distance where it is the sharpest for a person with poor eyesight.

Related: This Traveling Robot Isn't Just a Pile of Junk on the Side of the Road

For now, the tech is still in the early prototype phase, but the goal of the team behind it is to be able to personalize it for any user's prescription. They've found that they can use the display to adjust for conditions like myopia and astigmatism and they are looking to find ways to integrate the technology into phones, laptops, tablets and even car GPS's.

Here's a look:

In a release from MIT, one of the display's creator's, research scientist Gordon Wetzstein, says that while it isn't an all-purpose solution, it is generally less "invasive." And, of course, "we spend a huge portion of our time interacting with the digital world," increasingly in front of displays.

Someday you'll be able to sit back, relax and take off your glasses when in front of your television. Or a computer or your phone. As the creators say, it's as if the display was wearing glasses or contacts, not you.

We're not sure how it works when different people with different eye prescriptions are looking at the same screen, but the technology still sounds pretty cool.

Related: Fade to 'Vantablack': Scientists Invent a Material So Black Your Eyes Can't See It

Nina Zipkin

Entrepreneur Staff

Staff Writer. Covers leadership, media, technology and culture.

Nina Zipkin is a staff writer at Entrepreneur.com. She frequently covers leadership, media, tech, startups, culture and workplace trends.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Business News

Apple Reportedly Isn't Paying OpenAI to Use ChatGPT in iPhones

The next big iPhone update brings ChatGPT directly to Apple devices.

Business News

Sony Pictures Entertainment Purchases Struggling, Cult-Favorite Movie Theater Chain

Alamo Drafthouse originally emerged from bankruptcy in June 2021.

Growing a Business

He Immigrated to the U.S. and Got a Job at McDonald's — Then His Aversion to Being 'Too Comfortable' Led to a Fast-Growing Company That's Hard to Miss

Voyo Popovic launched his moving and storage company in 2018 — and he's been innovating in the industry ever since.

Marketing

Are Your Business's Local Listings Accurate and Up-to-Date? Here Are the Consequences You Could Face If Not.

Why accurate local listings are crucial for business success — and how to avoid the pitfalls of outdated information.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Business News

'Passing By Wide Margins': Elon Musk Celebrates His 'Guaranteed Win' of the Highest Pay Package in U.S. Corporate History

Musk's Tesla pay package is almost 140 times higher than the annual pay of other high-performing CEOs.