Coming, smartphones that correct vision

You can soon kiss goodbye to your glasses or contact lenses as future smartphones can adjust the display screen for better visibility for you.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a "vision-correcting display" technology that fits on your smartphone's screen or laptop or any other device.

A thin, transparent material, it works along with a computer algorithm to correct the user's focal distance the range at which the eye can bring objects into focus.

"The vision-correcting display will not help visually-impaired people see the rest of the world more clearly but it could improve their visual experience with smartphones and other devices," explained Gordon Wetzstein, a research scientist at MIT's media lab.

The screen cover features a pattern of tiny pinholes that alters the light emanating from the smartphone's screen.

"The new algorithm computes a pattern that is being displayed on the regular screen, but when you observe it through this pinhole mask, it forms this illusion of a focused image outside the physical device," Wetzstein told Live Science.

Future versions of the prototype display will allow the viewer to adjust the algorithm based on prescriptions from an optometrist, Wetzstein added.