The world is digitizing at an awe-inspiring rate, and life without digital screens has become unimaginable. Our biology, has in many aspects not been able to keep up. Our eye-sight deteriorates as we get older, slowly, inexorably, every one of us develops farsightedness ( from the age of 35 this becomes a significant problem for some). Farsightedness comes in many forms, such as hyperopia and presbyopia, but they all lead to poor vision from nearby. In hyperopia, light is focused to a point posterior to the retina as a result of inadequate refraction at the cornea or lens, or, less commonly, a short axial length, leading to blurred vision. Modern technologies such as built in navigation systems can be difficult to read, especially for the elderly, leading to potentially dangerous situations. Furthermore, screen use is continuously increasing in the work place, making those that have farsightedness a vulnerable group.
With the interdependencies of smart devices, it is said that in today’s society, the smartphone has become so ubiquitous that people just cannot lead a life without their phones. Mobile devices have brought about innumerable workplace revolutions and enabled a new generation of workers to be productive. This productivity improvement has eluded the aging workforce however. According to The Vision Council, 70% of workers today require vision correction. Uncorrected astigmatic refractive errors have a negative impact on the productivity of (elderly) workers. According to the National Eye Institute, it costs an average of $2,100 per year in lost productivity for every employee with eye strain, which can be a result of untreated or under-treated presbyopia. Modern phones and displays are not designed for an aging workforce and population, making those that have farsightedness a vulnerable group. Many of the elder workforce find it challenging to use productivity enhancement applications and are either reassigned to more menial tasks, or retired from the workplace completely. Also, in a private setting, visual impairment, even if correctable, has a negative effect on social functioning. Elderly unable to use mobile phones can become isolated from their social circles.
Rabbit-eyes has developed a solution for farsighted users of digital devices. With the Rabbit-view technology light emissions from the display of digital devices are manipulated and refracted with algorithms and microlenses. With this groundbreaking solution for automated correction, people suffering from farsightedness no longer need (varifocal) eyeglasses to read content on digital devices.The main objective of this project is to assess the feasibility of a successful introduction and roll-out of the Rabbit-view technology in Europe. The project aimed to answer both technical and financial feasibility questions and convert the findings into a detailed market implementation roadmap.
