High-tech sunglasses use sensors to help you focus

{{quote-A:R-W:480-I:2-Q:“Our mind is like a muscle. If you exercise your muscles you will get fitter, stronger and improve your performance. It is the same for the mind,”-WHO:Mr Nicola Belli, Front End Innovation Director, Safilo Spa, Italy}}Dubbed SafiloX, the glasses are armed with cutting-edge electroencephalography technology (EEG) that tracks brainwaves, and with the help of an app, also assists with cognitive training modules.Meanwhile bedded in the frame, rubber nose pads and nose bridge are tiny electronic sensors that are designed to read eye movent and facial muscles.“If you have the frame in your hand you cannot recognise the sensors because they are integrated into the frame. There are two sensors on the ears and three sensors on the nose. With these five sensors we can measure the electrical waves coming out from the brain and from the eyes,” Safilo head of innovation Mr Nicola Belli told Optometry Today.The information collected through the sensors is relayed to the smartphone app via Bluetooth, enabling a variety of training programs. These range from focusing or relaxing exercises, to tasks that test the wearer’s cognitive skills.{{image3-a:l-w:400}}“You start with a basic two or three-minute exercise and then you get feedback. The app has a gaming approach where the challenges get more and more difficult over time. You can see how you are doing live on the smartphone,” Belli said.“Our mind is like a muscle. If you exercise your muscles you will get fitter, stronger and improve your performance. It is the same for the mind,” Belli elaborated.The prototype, which was first showcased during the Las Vegas 2017 Consumer Electronics Show, also comes with a gyroscope, and pressure, tperature and ultraviolet sensors. Safilo plans on making the product available for sale online from October.