A Apple is designing a virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) headset with liquid lenses for users who suffer from vision problems.

Current VR lenses already come with some adjustments for their functionality. For example, it is possible to change their distance from the user's eyes or adjust the diameter of the visors to better fit the pupil. The problem arises, however, when there is a need to change the lenses, that is, when the person wears glasses and needs to remove them to put on the headset.

A new patent from Apple, “Electronic Device with Adjustable Lenses”, presents a solution to the impasse. It is a hydraulic system to adjust the lenses in a malleable way, with little effort from the user.

The patent illustration shows how such a system would work. The Apple would attach a set of components to the lenses to house a micro fluid chamber, which would be inflated and deflated by a valve connected to a reservoir. From the push of liquids by the reservoir, the lenses would become more flexible and modify their optical properties, consequently changing what the user sees.

There would also be the option of multiple cameras in use on the headset. Apple, produced by more or less rigid materials. In this arrangement, the molding of the lenses would be done by the volume of the reservoirs at rest, not by the hydraulic flow.

Apple Glass in gestation

The design of a VR or AR headset with liquid lenses is reminiscent of a more ambitious initiative by Apple, Apple Ice cream. The smart glasses, scheduled to be launched in 2022 or 2023, would be able to identify objects and measure the depth of environments.

The idea of ​​using fluids to adjust optical lenses, in turn, is not new. In the late 2000s, British physicist Joshua Silver already produced a pair of glasses with silica gel-based lenses. As in the concept of Apple, the user's degree is managed according to the amount of components inserted into the thickness of the lens.

Street: Apple Insider.