JINS MEME glasses

The Tokyo-based eyewear designer JINS stylish new glasses seem like an ordinary pair of glasses at first glance. However, the JINS MEME glasses offer more than style and comfort: these frames have been specifically designed to monitor your health. (Video)

The MEME is the product of a collaboration between industry designers and academics with a particular focus on tiredness. The MEME operates by tracking the correlation between eye-strain and fatigue, and offers up-to-date data on the wearer’s mental and physical tiredness by linking the MEME to a smartphone feed. Users can then keep track of their daily energy levels, ideally taking a break when their MEME notes their tiredness, or avoid dangerous situations, such as driving while exhausted, thanks to the MEME’s monitoring system.

In order to determine how tired a person is, the MEME glasses rely on monitoring a user’s eye movements and gaze. The glasses contain small metallic “electrooculography” sensors in the portions of the frame that touch the face, such as the bridge, nose pads and the bars that rest on the ears. These sensors then measure the electrical potential of the eye movement; changes in voltage are then collected into data that is measured for parameters such as alertness or fatigue. In addition, the MEME also comes equipped with a six-axis motion-tracking sensor built into the frame that calculates different body movements, posture and balance throughout the day. Wearing the MEME while walking or running can then provide information such as calories burned and speed during exercise.

Other features include a range of styles, from glasses to sunglasses, and the ability to equip the MEME with prescription lenses. The MEME is lightweight and runs on a rechargeable lithium-ion battery and offers about 8 hours of continuous use. There will be an optional “battery headband” available for purchase that will extend battery life to about 16 hours. It is anticipated to be compatible with Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android devices, and will be available in both English and Japanese languages—though there is no word on overseas sales beyond their upcoming 2015 launch in Japan.

Check out the video below to see how these glasses can be used as a health-monitoring tool.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jXjpteeLhw[/youtube]

Via PSFK