A Pair Of Sunglasses That Simulate LSD Hallucinations

Viewing the world through rose-colored glasses is boring. What about hallucinogenic-, psychotropic-, electric-Kool-Aid-colored glasses instead? 
Wayfarer, meet way out: Hungarian artist Bence Agoston has created a pair of sunglasses that can simulate hallucination. (At least the visual kind.)

In appearance, Mood's 3-D printed frames look like a cross between John Lennon's wire-rimmed ovals and the old maven glasses Elton John sometimes wears in concert. But the frames aren't really the star of the show here: the lenses are. Agoston's sunglasses can be used to simulate all sorts of technicolor freakouts thanks to six special inserts which can be layered over one another. Each lens is based on a different Moiré pattern that filters red, green, or blue light. Three lenses can be placed in front of each eye; by rotating them, different patterns can be created.



"Because each color filters the incoming lights differently, and the patterns can overlap each other or leave blank fields, the new view is completely random and twisted," says Agoston. Not that you have to trip out all the time. "Mood can also be used with clear lenses, for everyday living," he notes.

Asked when you should use his Mood sunglasses, Agoston basically comes right out and says the optimal use case is in the back of a colorfully painted school bus with Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters.


"The ideal situation for use is during travel, when people listen to music, just looking out the window and watching the ever-changing sights, in perfect harmony with the music. The shape is designed with the aim of simplicity and distinctness, as if the wearer belongs to a kind of subculture." Just any old subculture, huh?

Skugga sunglasses tint on command or automatically

Well, that didn't take long. In less than a year, electrochromic sunglasses have gone from being experimental to an actual product, with Dutch startup Ctrl announcing its tint-on-demand Ctrl One cycling glasses just this month. Should you prefer multi-use electronically-tinting sunglasses, however, you might want to get yourself a pair of Skugga shades.
  Electrochromic sunglasses are similar to traditional photochromic transition eyeglasses, in that their lenses automatically switch from clear to tinted when exposed to ultraviolet light. That said, while photochromic lenses take several seconds to make the change, electrochromic lenses do so instantly. Additionally, their users can switch between clear and tinted modes manually – this could be particularly useful in situations such as driving, in which photochromic lenses won't darken because they're shaded from the sunlight.
                   

While Ctrl utilizes "e-tint" technology developed by Ohio-based company AlphaMicron, Skugga has gone with a system from Sweden's LC-Tec. It incorporates liquid crystal filters within the lenses, that darken or brighten in response to the application of a low-voltage electrical current.
  According to the designers, the lenses block 100 percent of UVA and UVB light even at their lightest tint – they do not go completely untinted. Additionally, for people who care to keep track of such things, the app lets users know their own level of UV exposure over time. For users who don't want to be constantly accessing the app, the glasses can be switched between auto and two user-defined tint presets by flipping their right-hand arm.
                   

The glasses' battery is charged wirelessly, with one charge reportedly being good for about 8 hours in auto or 12 in manual. The lenses automatically default to their lightest tint when the battery is dead.