One of the startups I absolutely wanted to visit at AWE was Oxford Optical Labs (OOL) because it is developing special lenses that can change their focus on demand. This company got me intrigued since the first time I spoke with them during my AWE preview interview, because its technology could enable varifocal headsets in the future. Let me tell you everything that I learned when I visited their meeting room at AWE in Long Beach!

Oxford Optical Labs has been working on its adjustable fluid lenses for over 20 years. These lenses are not made of glass, but are made of a membrane that contains a fluid. By changing the parameters of the fluid, it is possible to change the parameters of the lens. For instance, the same lens can be used first with someone with myopia, and then with someone with presbyopia.

In my previous article, I stated that the lens changes its property thanks to electricity that flows through it, but that is incorrect. The lens changes its property because of pressure in some specific points. So changing these “pressure points” on the lens changes its property, and the same lens can be adapted to any person needing it. As you can see below, it can be altered to change all the possible optical properties, and solve myopia, presbyopia, and even astigmatism!