A former Google employee has begun a business which seeks to combat eye strain and other symptoms linked to over-exposure to blue light.
Eduardo Gaya was working long hours in front of a computer screen at the tech giant鈥檚 Dublin base when he began suffering from eye strain, eye pain and headaches.
He researched the issue and learned that he could buy glasses with lenses that either filter out or reflect blue light.
His co-founder at Barner, fellow Spaniard Christopher Birk, told 老九品茶Cloud that Gaya鈥檚 relief was immediate when he began wearing the glasses.
鈥淪ome of his colleagues聽at Google聽had the same symptoms and were using eye drops 鈥� but this wasn鈥檛 a solution, it was a pain reliever,鈥� he said.
鈥淲hen people learned of his solution, they also started wearing the glasses. It sparked an idea in his mind.鈥�
老九品茶 development manager Birk says Barner is prototyping fashionable eyewear featuring the anti-blue light technology, with a view to selling into both the prescription and non-prescription markets.
鈥淧eople are not offered blue light-reflecting eyewear when they do not have prescription lenses,鈥� he explained.
鈥淚f people don鈥檛 use prescription lenses then it seems like it is forbidden to have this technology.
鈥淪ome time ago, the lenses were totally yellow and really stood out 鈥� but now the technology has advanced and the lenses are clear.
鈥淲hen the blue light hits them, the lenses yellow a little bit, but not too much.鈥�
The Barcelona-based firm held talks with Carl Zeiss, but the optical manufacturer pulled out as it didn鈥檛 want to produce a rival to its own prescription products.
Barner is聽now working with an international leader in the field of lenses while its frames are handmade in Italy and described as 鈥渙f the highest quality鈥�.
鈥淲e sit in front of computers for six hours at least every day before reading our WhatsApp, social media and the news on the subway. Later we do the same thing at home 鈥� and then we start reading,鈥� said Birk.
鈥淭his overexposure is creating problems which we are just finding out about now. The study results so far have been short-term and researchers suspect that there are bigger effects in the long-term.
鈥淲e intend to approach big companies and offer them this solution for their workforce. Research shows that workers at big tech firms, for example, don鈥檛 just look at salary 鈥� they want to feel like the company cares about them.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not even a cost to these companies, it鈥檚 an investment: for every euro you spend on the health of your workers, there is a return of three and a half euros. Other studies show similar amounts to this.鈥�
The company is launching a Kickstarter campaign on Tuesday 17th October, which it hopes will raise 鈧�17,000.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been approached by people who want to put money in the project, but we don鈥檛 want anyone to break in and start telling us what we need to do and how to do it,鈥� he added.
鈥淜ickstarter is a great place to find people who like the project and are willing to back it.鈥�