Sponsored by Shamir
By Deborah Kotob, ABOM
Driving is a visually demanding daily activity for nearly every American. As driving conditions change from day to night, visual demands and challenges change; therefore, lenses play a significant role in the safety and comfort of drivers during mesopic and scotopic night driving conditions and photopic daylight conditions. We have all experienced the blinding glare of oncoming headlamps at night, and we have all squinted and lost vision temporarily when our sight is overwhelmed by the glare of the sun’s reflections. For drivers, light conditions and visual distractions interfere with our ability to focus our attention; they reduce reaction times, add to our stress levels while driving, reduce our driving comfort and confidence, and impede our visual processing. The visual challenges unique to driving can be partly attributed to the constant shift in focal distance as we look at our dashboard and then in the far distance at traffic lights, all while watching for pedestrians and other vehicles, and constantly checking our rearview and side mirrors and digital dashboard displays. All of this occurs as light conditions affecting visibility change before our eyes.
Shamir was the first to employ elements of artificial intelligence (AI), eye tracking and big data in its optical design, which is the foundation for the Shamir Driver Intelligence lens. Shamir partnered with Renault Group’s BWT Alpine F1® Team, one of the world’s leading professional car racing squads, to develop the best driving lenses: the Shamir Driver Intelligence Sun daylight lenses for daytime conditions and the Shamir Driver Intelligence Moon lenses for low light and night driving. The driving data collected from this partnership vastly expanded Shamir’s Big Data set. It now incorporates real-world measurements under varied road and lighting conditions and head/eye tracking of BWT Alpine F1® Team’s pro drivers and everyday drivers.
These state-of-the-art driving lenses feature Shamir’s AI-aided lens processing and design technology. Fourteen million gaze points were sampled, 200 driving scenarios were researched, and measurements from driving pros and everyday drivers were collected. Studies involving 80 vehicle types with drivers of a broad range of ages from both Pro drivers and everyday drivers showed that visual processing increased by 16 percent, horizontal fields of view increased by 33 percent, and vertical fields of view increased by 19 percent. Using myopic shift compensation and low internal reflection coating improved nighttime vision. Reaction times for daytime driving improved by 11 percent and 15 percent, respectively. A myopic shift in our vision occurs during twilight or mesopic conditions when daylight dims but full darkness has not yet occurred. Our visual acuity and contrast sensitivity are reduced in mesopic conditions as the light levels transition from day to night.
Challenges to driver vision are many and fast-changing, including sudden changes in road types and conditions, difficulty maintaining attention and mental focus, visual fatigue and the ongoing need to re-adjust focus on both fast-moving objects outside the car and digital readouts inside. Add to this the visual challenge posed by glare from sunlight and reflections, and reduced acuity and contrast sensitivity in low-light conditions at night. It becomes apparent that every driver will benefit from Shamir Driver Intelligence Sun lenses and Shamir Driver Intelligence Moon lenses.
Lens design features that enhance driving vision include a soft, low-distortion design with high acuity for excellent wide-field far vision. The digital-friendly power profile and Natural Posture™ technology help the wearer transition efficiently between the many focal distances required for driving. The visual age-based myopic shift technology improves low-light sharpness and is available for any frame tilt from a flat to a high wrap curve.
Shamir Driver Intelligence is the result of integrating proven lens technology and design methodology with the real-world racetrack experience of the Renault Group-owned BWT Alpine F1 Team. These state-of-the-art lenses help deliver the clearest, sharpest vision and improved reaction times, ultimately providing drivers with visual acuity and comfort in all light conditions. By partnering with BWT Alpine F1 Team to capture real-world measurements under varied road and lighting conditions, including head/eye tracking of BWT Alpine F1 Team’s pro drivers, innovation in driving lenses has been elevated to new heights in Shamir Driver Intelligence lenses.
