SWITCH - NOW AN EYEWEAR SOLUTION FOR NASA AND OUR ASTRONAUTS
FAIRFIELD, NJ – April 5, 2015
Liberty Sport is proud to announce that their patented Switch Magnetic Interchange technology is now being used by NASA. Two styles, the Zealot and the Bespoke, have passed the rigorous testing required by NASA and in 2016 will be launching into space as the eyewear solution for their astronauts.
The design of Switch allows one to instantly adapt to the changing light conditions and is now perfectly applied to the need for progressive vision correction required by some astronauts during prolonged periods in space. The high-energy magnets embedded in the lens and frame allows the astronauts to swap the lenses, specially made for each astronaut in the Liberty Performance lab, to the varying degrees of prescription increase.
“Liberty Sport strives to not just make eyewear, but to engineer eyewear solutions to solve a vision problem in a variety of sporting and lifestyle activities. We are thrilled to have developed a technology that can be used by NASA that not only supports the vision needs of our astronauts but is in line with our product development mission,” says Anthony M. DiChiara, CEO of Liberty Sport.
Previous research published in the October 2011 issue of Ophthalmology, identified a possible link between reported vision changes and an increase in intracranial pressure due to shifts in fluids caused by microgravity. Anecdotal evidence suggests that microgravity affects vision causing a shift towards farsightedness in most people.
As most astronauts are over 40, a majority of them already require a prescription for presbyopia, a condition where the lenses of the eyes become increasingly inflexible making it difficult to focus on things close To ensure clear vision for astronauts in space and to pre-empt any possible prescription changes, NASA flies ‘space anticipation’ glasses for crew members over the age of 40 and multiple pairs for those that already require a prescription. Now, with the use of the Switch frames and technology, the need for multiple pairs of frames and lenses is removed, thus saving precious ounces of weight. Switch technology now offers a simple solution to ensure clear vision of NASA’s astronauts.