What’s happened?
An artist and creator is offering an innovative new idea in ad-blocking for those who feel they are being bombarded by digital screens in everyday life. Inspired by cult eighties movie They Live, where all global mass media is controlled by a sinister organisation, artist Ivan Cash has created a pair of glasses that are actually able to block out LCD and LED screens, while seeing everything else in your field of view normally. Known as IRL Glasses, they are also fully functioning UV-blocking sunglasses. Inspired by an article in Wired Magazine talking about cloaking film that could be placed on windows in offices, the inventor set about creating a way this could be applied to everyday life. The glasses work by flattening and rotating the polarized lens 90 degrees, blocking light emitted by LCD/LED screens, creating the illusion that the TV or computer in front of you is switched off.
The glasses are currently compatible with most TVs and some computers (LCD/LED), but they are not yet able to block smartphones or digital billboards but are working on the latter.
The Media Store Take
Though it’s highly unlikely to catch on in everyday life (remember Google Glass), the response on Kickstarter shows a very high demand, with a goal of $25,000 grossly exceeded by reaching $140,000, showing that the future of Adblocking is not just app-based.
Richard Lowe