Video-feed Sunglasses

The Eyetop Centra is a pair of fashionable high-tech sunglasses with a built-in heads-up 16-bit colour LCD screen and integrated earplugs that lets wearers watch video content while engaged in other activities. Can't live without your video fix even when you're walking down the street?Need a way to watch TV in bed without disturbing your significant other?Want to see the football replay on the portable TV you take to the stadium without missing what's happening on the field?You can do all that and more with Ingineo's Eyetop Centra - high-tech sunglasses with a built-in 16-bit color LCD screen and integrated earplugs that give new meaning to the term 'private screening.This US$399 pair of sci-fi shades incorporates its miniature screen in the lower centre of one lens, enabling wearers to comfortably watch the multimedia action while simultaneously staying in touch with their surroundings.Earplugs attached to each side deliver the audio feed without the need for separate headphones.The frames attach to a belt-worn control unit that in turn can connect to virtually any device equipped with a video output, including portable DVD players, digital cameras and camcorders, laptop computers, and multimedia hard drives.Plug it all in, and the images are fed to the Eyetop Centra screen for mobile viewing. Eyetop claims the screen can be viewed in both dark and daylight environments and there's a large degree of adjustability in the frames to enable optimum viewing angles. The frames are foldable and include an adjustable nose pad for proper vertical positioning. The optics assembly can be easily rotated to adjust to the center of the wearer's eye for maximum viewing comfort. Brightness, contrast, hue and saturation controls are on the control unit.Some of the suggested uses of this new functionality include; watching TV in your backyard by connecting to a wireless TV tuner; using the Centra as an external viewfinder to record odd angles with your camcorder; watching a video in a bus or car without missing the scenery; allowing multiple users to videoconference in the office from a single laptop.Eyetop Centra also has application for hobbyists. Small-scale model car or aeroplane enthusiasts can use it to see the view from their vehicles' cameras and watch the live action at the same time, instead of averting their eyes to look down at an LCD screen.You can buy the Centra online at www.eyetop.net