Eyeglasses may include one or more lenses and control circuitry that adjusts an optical power of the lenses. The control circuitry may be configured to determine a user's prescription and accommodation range during a vision characterization process. The vision characterization process may include adjusting the optical power of the lens until the user indicates that an object viewed through the lens is in focus. A distance sensor may measure the distance to the in-focus object. The control circuitry may calculate the user's prescription based on the optical power of the lens and the distance to the in-focus object. The control circuitry may adjust the optical power automatically or in response to user input. The object viewed through the lens may be an electronic device. The user may control the optical power of the lens and/or indicate when objects are in focus by providing input to the electronic device.

Described herein are electrochemical cells that include composite gel positioned between the first electrode and second electrode, wherein the composite gel comprises an electrolyte, a polyaryl amine, and an oxidant. The composite gels described herein are easy to produce at a low-cost, which makes them suitable in a number of different applications electrochromic devices, supercapacitors, solar cells, and hybrid photoactive supercapacitors.

An electro-optical modulator is provided. The modulator comprises a first and a second optical waveguide, at least one first capacitance, via which a voltage can be applied to a light-guiding region of the first optical waveguide, at least one second capacitance, via which a voltage can be applied to a light-guiding region of the second optical waveguide, an electrically conductive region, via which the first and second capacitances are electrically connected to one another, and a feed line to the electrically conductive region, via which feed line a DC voltage can be applied to the electrically conductive region, wherein the feed line is constituted such that it represents an electrical resistance connected in parallel with the second capacitance, and a compensation resistance connected in parallel with the first capacitance and serving for reducing transients in a voltage profile on the first and second capacitances during the operation of the modulator.

In an aspect of the present invention, a gasochromic dimming mechanism is provided which includes a gasochromic dimming component provided with a pair of transparent substrates, the transparent substrates being arranged to face each other, and a dimming part formed on one or both facing surfaces of the pair of the transparent substrates, wherein an optical property of the dimming part is reversibly changed by hydrogenation and dehydrogenation; and a hydrogen-air mixture gas supply unit that supplies a hydrogen-air mixture gas between the pair of the transparent substrates. The hydrogen-air mixture gas supply unit includes an electrolysis cell including a mixer for mixing hydrogen and air, a polymer electrolyte membrane, a porous electrode formed in the polymer electrolyte membrane as an anode, and an air supply unit that supplies the air to the mixer, the porous electrode being arranged on a flow channel of the air.

The present invention relates to optical power-limiting devices, and more particularly, to an optical power-limiting passive (self-adaptive) device and to a method for limiting solar power transmission in devices such as windows, using scattering level changes in a novel thermotropic composition that contains salt nano or microparticles embedded in a solid transparent host layer, where temperature change induces change in the refraction index of the matrix as well as of the embedded particles, creating a scattering layer, substantially reflecting the incident light thus limiting the amount of light passing through the window, green house covers, car sun roofs, solar panel windows and protection layers on housing roofs and walls, as a function of ambient temperature.

A light signal, in particular for rail-bound traffic routes, includes a control device which controls a light source, and an optical system for visualizing a signal term. In order to more precisely adjust brightness boundaries, light distribution and phantom light intensity, a transmission-controllable smart-glass element is provided in an aperture segment of the light flow.

Switchable radiative energy harvesting systems and methods of harvesting radiation are disclosed. A system includes an optical filter that includes at least one of an active material and a passive material. The optical filter is switchable between a shield mode and a harvesting mode such that the at least one of the active material and the passive material is in a reflecting state during the shield mode such that the optical filter blocks passage of radiation from a thermal emitter to a thermophotovoltaic cell and a transmitting state during the harvesting mode such that that the optical filter allows the radiation to pass from the thermal emitter to the thermophotovoltaic cell.

Provided is a display apparatus including a backlight unit; a substrate disposed above the backlight unit and including a first surface facing the backlight unit and a second surface opposite to the first surface; a plurality of color filters arranged on the second surface of the substrate; a polarizing plate disposed above the plurality of color filters; and a plurality of polarizers interposed between the polarizing plate and the backlight unit and arranged to correspond to the plurality of color filters, respectively.

Disclosed herein are systems and architecture for thermal waveguide-based phase shifters which improve thermal efficiency by having multi-pass waveguides arranged under the heating element in a serpentine fashion, with the waveguides having mismatched propagation constants. The combination allows for an increase in phase shift without increasing the length or the power consumption of the resistive heating element by increasing the total length of waveguide being heated by a singular heating element.

A backlight unit in a head-up display apparatus according to the present disclosure includes A plurality of light sources configured to emit light; a plurality of primary light collectors configured to collect the light emitted by the plurality of light sources to transmit, refract, or reflect the collected light; and a secondary light collector configured to recollect the light which is collected by the plurality of primary light collectors. At this point, an optical axis of one among the plurality of light sources, the plurality of primary light collectors, and the secondary light collector is disposed to be different from the other two.