The optical company Frameri recently worked with EnChroma, a color-enhancing lens manufacturer, to create a collection of eyewear accessories that would aid color blind individuals. While the glasses range from $300 to $700, the newfound possibilities these glasses offer make the price more affordable to those who are colorblind.
Frameri produces frames manufactured with a hard polymer that prevents the glasses from breaking or scratching. EnChroma builds lenses that allow red-green colorblind people to see color by adjusting the way that the eyes respond to light. Together, these two companies created glasses that now enable color blind individuals to perform activities not available to them before, such as driving, painting, and experiencing different types of art. The glasses enhance the perception of the colors that they see without altering the balance between them.
Sophomore Victoria Harris was amazed by the product. She commented, “It’s amazing how we can offer people the ability to see a new color. [Watching] YouTube videos of users seeing the color purple, for example, was heartwarming.”
Regarding the science behind color blindness, biology teacher Shi Bing Shen explained, “We all have cones in our our eyes that are responsible for our ability to perceive color waves. We each have red, green, and blue cones in our eyes, but sometimes the cones don’t respond to the light the way they should; thus, some of us are colorblind.”
Junior Alex Chen is color deficient and explained that he never notices his color deficiency unless someone points it out because he has lived with it his whole life.
Alex finds it impossible to distinguish between colors such as purple and blue, red and dark shades of brown, and brown and green colors due to the deficiency.
“I wouldn’t say my color blindness is much of a disadvantage, so receiving treatment for it is not a priority. However, there are some people whose colorblindness prohibits them from essential routines like driving, because they can’t tell when the lights are changing,” Alex shared.
While the glasses may provide opportunity to some, it’s unnecessary to others. Alex went on to say, “I can get by just fine on my own. Even if I can’t differentiate between some colors, it doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy them without some fancy products.”
As innovators continue to provide solutions to such problems, technology will expand to make the impossible possible.
