Look into mobile, get your eyes tested

A team headed by Indian-born researcher Ramesh Raskar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has developed a software and a smartphone accessory that can perform eye tests and save you a trip to the optometrist. Vanita Srivastava reports.

Ramesh-Raskar-with-his-invention-called-NETRA-or-Near-Eye-Tool-for-Refractive-Assessment

Soon, your phone will have one more function - telling you whether you need glasses or not.

A team headed by Indian-born researcher Ramesh Raskar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed a software and a smartphone accessory that can perform eye tests and save you a trip to the optometrist.

'We have conducted scientific trials and hope to market the instrument in India in the next few months,' Raskar, associate professor in media arts and sciences at MIT, told HT.

The device called NETRA (Near Eye Tool for Refractive Assessment) can be clipped on to a mobile phone with a suitable hi-resolution LCD display.

It can then detect whether you need glasses. The test takes less than a minute.

Raskar explained that after attaching the device, those with perfect vision will see a single line, while shortsighted or longsighted people will see multiple or distorted lines.

It will also help people figure out the power of the glasses they need.

'Eyecare is a low priority area in India. Eyeglasses can help almost 300 million people,' Raskar said.