What if your smartphone screen automatically corrected itself to fit your vision? What if you no longer needed glasses or lenses to watch television or work on your computer?

Researchers have developed technology that has the potential to help millions of people with impaired vision, many of whom have problems so complex that even glasses won't help.

UC Berkeley computer scientists and vision scientists worked together to create vision-correcting displays--screens that self-correct to the user's visual impairment. The team used algorithms to direct the intensity of light from a single pixel in an image and then, through a process called deconvolution, aimed the light through a pinhole array to produce a sharp image.

"Our technique distorts the image such that, when the intended user looks at the screen, the image will appear sharp to that particular viewer," said Brian Barsky, UC Berkeley professor of computer and vision science.

Lead author Fu-Chang Huang explains the appeal of the technology. "Instead of relying on optics to correct your vision, we use computation. This is a very different class of correction, and it is non-intrusive."

The prototype display is an improvement on previous prototypes that produced images with low contrast.

Huang believes the technology can be adapted into a screen protector. Eye-tracking technology would have to improve, he explains, in order for the displays to keep track of the user's head position and adapt accordingly.

The research team from UC Berkeley paired up with Gordon Wetzstein and Ramesh Raskar of MIT to develop the prototype. They will present it at the International Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques in Vancouver on August 12.

"We now live in a world where displays are ubiquitous, and being able to interact with displays is taken for granted," said Barsky. The technology will be most useful for people with higher order aberrations whose corneas are irregularly shaped. The impairment prevents them from comfortably wearing contact lenses. Often, Barsky explains, being able to view screens is the difference between getting a job and not getting it if computers are a large part of the work. He hopes his team's prototype will one day be able to change that.

"This research could transform their lives, and I am passionate about that potential."