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Imagine glasses that could bring everything into focus, shifting prescriptions from near to farsighted and back again in moments. It’s not possible with today’s glass lenses, but a breakthrough in what are called liquid lenses could make smart glasses that do exactly that. They could put an end to bifocals, and you’d only ever need that one pair of adjustable spectacles for the rest of your life.

Researchers at the University of Utah produced a prototype pair of these glasses by using flexible lenses and piezoelectric pistons. For users who are both nearsighted and farsighted, the lens’ curvature is gradually shifted between optical powers by the pistons. As the lenses change they can bring into focus any point along the way. This is possible because the lenses aren’t made of rigid materials, as they would be in traditional glasses. Instead, two flexible membranes encase glycerol, a highly refractive liquid, to comprise each lens. The lenses stretch and become more convex as transparent pistons push them forward, and more concave as the pistons move back.

To adapt to an individual’s particular vision, the glasses require two pieces of information. One is the prescription, which the user enters into a mobile app. The other is the distance to the desired focal point, which is measured by a sensor in the center of the frames. A microcontroller in one stem of the glasses stores the prescription information and receives the distance measure from the sensor. It plugs those numbers into a specialized algorithm, which in turn determines how much voltage to apply to the piezoelectric pistons to achieve the desired curvature.

The glasses, whose battery is stored in one stem of the frame, work for up to six hours before you have to recharge them. Now that they have a functioning prototype, the researchers hope to integrate eye-tracking technology, which could provide even more precise focus adjustments.

With its thick stems and wide frames, the laser-cut acrylic prototype may seem a bit clunky. But for now, function is more important than form. Still, someday soon the researchers may shift their focus to streamlining the design and sending customizable glasses to a store near you.

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Evan Ackerman is a senior editor at IEEE Spectrum. Since 2007, he has written over 6,000 articles on robotics and technology. He has a degree in Martian geology and is excellent at playing bagpipes.

Michael Koziol is an associate editor at IEEE Spectrum where he covers everything telecommunications. He graduated from Seattle University with bachelor's degrees in English and physics, and earned his master's degree in science journalism from New York University.

Eliza Strickland is a senior editor at IEEE Spectrum, where she covers AI, biomedical engineering, and other topics. She holds a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University.

With 360-degree video, IEEE Spectrum puts you aboard drones that are flying high above the Tanzanian landscape: You’ll ride along as drones soar above farms, towns, and the blue expanse of Lake Victoria. You’ll also meet the local entrepreneurs who are creating a new industry, finding applications for their drones in land surveying and delivery. And you’ll get a close-up view from a bamboo grove as a drone pilot named Bornlove builds a flying machine from bamboo and other materials.

You can follow the action in a 360-degree video in three ways: 1) Watch on your computer, using your mouse to click and drag on the video; 2) watch on your phone, moving the phone around to change your view; or 3) watch on a VR headset for the full immersive experience.

If you’re watching on an iPhone:Go directly to the YouTube page for the proper viewing experience.

For more stories of how drones are changing the game in Africa, check out IEEE Spectrum’s “Tech Expedition: East Africa’s Big Bet on Drones.”

Evan Ackerman is a senior editor at IEEE Spectrum. Since 2007, he has written over 6,000 articles on robotics and technology. He has a degree in Martian geology and is excellent at playing bagpipes.

Michael Koziol is an associate editor at IEEE Spectrum where he covers everything telecommunications. He graduated from Seattle University with bachelor's degrees in English and physics, and earned his master's degree in science journalism from New York University.

Eliza Strickland is a senior editor at IEEE Spectrum, where she covers AI, biomedical engineering, and other topics. She holds a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University.

With 360 video, IEEE Spectrum takes you behind the scenes with one of the world’s first drone-delivery companies. Zipline, based in California, is using drones to deliver blood to hospitals throughout Rwanda. At an operations center in Muhanga, you’ll watch as Zipline technicians assemble the modular drones, fill their cargo holds, and launch them via catapult. You’ll see a package float down from the sky above a rural hospital, and you’ll get a closeup look at Zipline’s ingenious method for capturing returning drones.

You can follow the action in a 360-degree video in three ways: 1) Watch on your computer, using your mouse to click and drag on the video; 2) watch on your phone, moving the phone around to change your view; or 3) watch on a VR headset for the full immersive experience.

If you’re watching on an iPhone:Go directly to the YouTube page for the proper viewing experience.

For more about Zipline’s technology and operations, check out the feature article “In the Air With Zipline’s Medical Delivery Drones.”

Stephen Cass is the special projects editor at IEEE Spectrum. He currently helms Spectrum's Hands On column, and is also responsible for interactive projects such as the Top Programming Languages app. He has a bachelor's degree in experimental physics from Trinity College Dublin.

Do your travel plans include New York City? Are you a techie? If the answer to those questions is yes, let IEEE Spectrum be your guide! We've put together a list of some of our favorite places to visit, including important locations in the history of electrotechnology (New York was once the center of the electrical and electronic world) and places where fun and interesting things are happening today. See where Nikola Tesla lived, check out cutting-edge artists working with technology, or take the kids to see an Atlas and Titan rocket.

All the locations are accessible via the subway, and many are free to visit. If you do visit, take a selfie and post a link in the comments below.