The visor is no longer the first thing in front of the eye.
SUNBOND OPTIX / LENS TESTING
When putting on smart display eyewear, the immediate focal point is no longer just the optical and clarity of lenses, but the integrated visual experience delivered by the active display. Today, heads-up and augmented display capabilities are rapidly expanding beyond everyday smart glasses into diverse personal protective equipment (PPE), including ski goggles (ISO 18527-1), occupational safety eyewear (ISO 16321-1), and motorcycle helmet visors (ECE 22.06).
Put a display into one of those and the requirement does not step aside to make room for it. The article still has to meet the standard it always met, with the display in it.
That is harder than it sounds, because three things change at once and none of them appear on a spec sheet.
The first is light. A display is an emitter sitting inside the assembly. Anti-reflective treatment on the inner surface of a visor was never asked to manage a light source behind it, and what the coating has to do is not the same job it was specified for.
The second is distance. Vertex distance is the gap between the eye and the first optical object it meets. On a conventional visor that object is the visor. On a display visor it may be the display. Move the first optical surface and the focus distance moves with it.
The third is impact, and this one deserves care. On a visor without a display, a frontal impact may never reach the eye at all. Fit a display inside the same dimensional envelope, without altering the geometry much, and there is now a rigid optical component sitting in that path. Whether it stays seated under impact, or detaches, or reaches the eye, is a question with a measurable answer.
We are not claiming any of that happens. We are saying we have not seen anyone publish it, and it is the kind of thing that is cheaper to measure early than to discover late.
So one question for anyone taking a display into a regulated category: what is the first optical surface in front of your customer's eye, and has anyone measured what moving it changed?
And if you are working out what actually needs measuring on a smart eyewear lens, these are the categories that come up:
Optical test (optical bench)
Spectrum test
Photochromic test
Clarity test (resolving power, haze)
Impact test
Not every product needs all of them. Most need more than one, and which ones depends on the standard you are answering to.
We build and supply equipment for every one of them, and we think it is the best in the category. If you are not sure which ones apply to your product, that is worth a conversation before it is worth a purchase order.
We have been testing lenses since 1989 and we are always glad to compare notes.