Smart Glasses Mimic Insect Eyes to Assist the Visually Impaired With Macular Degeneration

A vision technology startup has developed a pair of smart glasses that clear up spotty vision. Designed for people experiencing macular degeneration—the leading cause of vision loss among people over the age of 60—the glasses mimic insect eyes, which use anywhere from dozens to thousands of visual perspectives to produce one sharp image. 

Macular degeneration takes two forms, the “dry” type of which accounts for up to 90% of total cases. Dry macular degeneration involves the gradual breakdown of light-sensitive cells in the macula, or the central part of the retina responsible for central vision, color perception, and fine details. As these cells atrophy, people begin to notice gaps in their vision, making it difficult to read, drive, navigate new spaces, or recognize faces. Some dry macular degeneration cases even morph into wet macular degeneration, in which a person’s vision deteriorates more rapidly due to abnormal blood vessel growth in the eye. 

Most people with macular degeneration tend to begin experiencing it around the age of 50, with others seeing signs closer to 30 or 40. To help people recover their vision and more comfortably set about their daily lives, New York-based Soliddd Corp developed a pair of glasses that use built-in cameras and displays to create a more complete image. 

Much like conventional smart glasses, Soliddd’s glasses feature a small camera on each temple. But these cameras don’t transmit data to the user’s smartphone. Instead, they send what they see to the displays on the inside of the glasses’ lenses. Each display features a plenoptic array of 64 tiny lenses that individually project a miniature version of the camera’s picture onto the healthy, peripheral part of the user’s retina. Because each lens tackles the image from a slightly different angle, the brain’s visual cortex can leverage stereopsis (the process through which two eyes’ pictures become one cohesive image) to stack these projections into a single, full-field 3D depiction of the user’s environment. An inward-facing camera meanwhile tracks the user’s gaze to ensure that the display is always pointed at the healthy portion of the retina.

Soliddd showed off an early version of its technology at CES 2025 earlier this month. By then, the company had tested its glasses with 31 individuals experiencing macular degeneration. According to Soliddd’s white paper, 25 people read faster wearing the glasses than they could without them, with seven having been unable to read at all prior to intervention. The test was performed with only one eye at the time; the company is now looking forward to testing the glasses with both eyes at once. 

In a YouTube video filmed at CES 2025, Soliddd director of business development Motti Attia said a production version of the glasses should be available by the end of the year. The company reportedly does not require FDA approval to sell the glasses, making it easier to push a finished product to the masses quickly.