IXI in the real world

A lab gives us any condition we ask for. A normal day is less cooperative. Light changes. Distances change. People move from phones to faces to screens without thinking about it. So, alongside everything we test at IXI HQ, we give prototypes to real people and see what happens when life gets in the way. We asked Emilia Helin, our Product Director, about daily testing after the glasses leave the lab.

Q: Can you describe daily testing for us?

For a few weeks, the glasses become part of somebody else’s routine. They go to work, out for lunch, into bright sun, onto the sofa, into bags and back onto faces. Every day is different, and that’s the point. Participants record what they notice (short surveys, diary entries, interviews). We then look at what they’ve shared alongside the technical data, and give the glasses a good inspection when they return. What happens in someone’s day usually tells us what to look at next.

Q: What happens when the light changes?

Helsinki is a great place to test this. Summer barely gets dark. Winter gives us only a few hours of daylight. We can recreate bright sun, low light, office lighting, and screens one by one at IXI HQ, but daily use shows us what happens when someone moves through several of them in the space of 24 hours or even milliseconds.

Q: What happens when viewing distance changes?

We look closely at lens quality and speed, particularly what happens when someone changes viewing distance. IXI Autofocus needs to respond quickly. Daily testing tells us whether that response feels seamless for the person wearing the glasses to barely notice.

Q: What are you looking for when it comes to comfort?

A pair of glasses sits on three points: your nose and each ear. How the weight is shared between them makes a big difference over a full day. We ask participants how the glasses feel as the hours pass, including whether they find themselves pushing them up, taking them off or adjusting them. Millimetres matter here. Get the balance slightly wrong and, by the afternoon, you’ll know about it.

Q: What can a used prototype tell you?

Quite a lot. A week of normal use leaves its mark. The glasses get cleaned and charged. They travel in bags and go outside. Sometimes they take a knock. When a pair comes back, we inspect it closely to see what changed and what held up. Anything worth investigating goes straight back into the lab.

Can I become a tester for IXI Autofocus eyewear?

We get this question a lot, and we love that so many people want to help us make autofocus eyewear better. The answer depends on the study. Sometimes we need someone who knows about our glasses, and sometimes we’re looking for someone who has never encountered us before. Most participants are recruited for a specific research question, and if there’s an open study, our waitlist will be the first to know.