The makers of VR Cover and Gauss Eyewear today announced their newest crowdfunding project which aims to deliver specially-made prescription lens holders for the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.

Much like their previous Gear VR lens campaign, VR Lens Lab has created a unique holder that slips over the headset’s optics so you can go glasses-free. For many bespectacled VR enthusiasts, this would mean never having to risk another scratch on their glasses or headset lenses, and never again having to cram their precious frames into the headset, which depending on your face shape and frame design can cause tension points.

Offering two different models fitting the newly released consumer HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, the new prescription lens holders will be able to accommodate prescriptions ranging from +6.0 to -6.0 dpt, which can be obtained after the Kickstarter campaign is over directly from Gauss Eyewear for €49 ($56 USD). Higher prescriptions and corrections for conditions such as astigmatism are also possible upon request along with a number of special coatings.

If you prefer to source your lenses from a local optician however, VR Lens Lab is offering the adapters themselves without prescription lens for €19/$22, and a model with non-prescription plano lenses that act as a dust and scratches protector for €39/$45). Both styles of adapter use tension to fit snugly inside their respective models, so you can easily pop them out at any time.

Support ‘VR Lens Lab’ Kickstarter

“Ergonomics and comfort are essential for truly enjoying virtual reality experiences and our goal is to offer hassle-free, affordable eyewear solutions for all major virtual reality headsets now, and in the future. Six out of ten people in the developed world wear glasses, that’s why we believe our glasses for VR headsets can benefit many VR enthusiasts who want the best VR experiences possible today,” said Pit Marx, Co-Founder of Gauss Eyewear.

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Accompanying Pit Marx is Jay Uhdinger, VR Cover’s director of business development, the company behind an extensive line of hygienic slip-on covers that fit the gamut of consumer VR headsets. Provided the team reaches their €5,000/$5700 funding goal, they plan to begin shipping their first adapters worldwide in early June 2016

Disclosure: VR Cover founder Jay Uhdinger is part of the VR Lens Lab Kickstarter. Last year I received a VR Cover for review on my personal blog. 

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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • AzureStarline

    Any word on this for Playstation VR and Sony?

    • realtrisk

      I’m sure they’ll expand into it once PSVR launches.

  • DExUS

    Well, it’s a good start, however this can be printed on a 3d pringer for ~50-80 cents.

    • realtrisk

      You can print clear glass prescription lenses on your 3D printer? Must be one heck of a 3D printer.

      • DExUS

        if you look closer, they say :

        Right now here on Kickstarter we only offer the glasses / adapters with or without plano (non rx) lenses to protect your VR headset lenses from dust and scratches.

        We can not offer prescription lenses here on Kickstarter but after our campaign is over you can order them directly from us via http://vr-lens-lab.com or your local optician.

        So I just print the frame and can get the lense from my local optician …

        • realtrisk

          Wow, you’re right. That… kinda makes the exercise seem pointless… Although I can understand if they need the kickstarter money to buy the lens grinding machine, but then just offer backers the product only if it gets funded or something. Don’t offer fake glasses… makes them look like shysters.

  • G8orballboy

    the Rift lenses look fixed…how would ipd adjustments work? that would be a deal breaker for me

    • jayvr

      ._.

  • visual

    “…possible upon request along with a number of special coatings.” Are any of those coatings something that can combat the lens flare issue? I’d be all on that for my CV1 if so.

  • Miichi

    I don’t really understand why near-sighted people (like me, got like -6.0dpt) need extra glasses at all. I can see everything without glasses inside my cardboard (never tried with rift though), because the screen is right in front of my eyes. Anyone else tried without glasses? (only near-sighted of course, meaning range of -6.0 to -0.25)

    • Doctor Bambi

      I agree with you Miichi, I wear glasses and always take them off for VR. Never noticed an issue on my gear VR or cardboard. Perhaps we are in a minority of glasses wearers. :/

    • Daz_Genetic

      Even the the screen is really close to your eyes, your eyes aren’t focusing at that depth. The lenses in the oculus are designed so that your eyes are focusing how they would when looking into the distance. The reason the cardboard is different is because the lenses aren’t that strong, so it’s more like focusing on something much closer, so in that case the focus zone falls within the area you may not need glasses.

      It’s all a trade off between comfort/FOV/screen-size/distortion.

      • Tony_Neville

        Very interesting… I was very short sighted with astigmatism and cataracts, and then had my lenses removed. So the silicone implants don’t give me 20/20 vision, but distances >6ft are pretty clear while I still need glasses for reading books, newsprint, etc. From what I gather from your post I may not need glasses while wearing my Vive headset. Unfortunately, I won’t know for certain until sometime next month

        • Daz_Genetic

          If you’re only wearing glasses for closeup stuff, then you’ll not need your glasses in either headset. They are definitely focused out further than 6ft.

          • Tony_Neville

            Great. VR and I are going to have a beautiful relationship.

  • These are pretty cool! Here is an article with more info pertaining to prescription glasses and VR headsets:
    http://vrprovision.com/how-to-put-on-prescription-3d-glasses/

  • Babu

    The HTC Vive VR Cover offers an easy way to keep your Vive clean. The waterproof Vive VR Covers are made from a soft leather like material (similar to what is used for high quality headphones) and are easy to clean.

    https://www.quora.com/Where-can-I-buy-htc-cover-case-Are-there-only-edge-covers-like-the-ones-available-for-i-phone/answer/Varun-Reddy-173

    They are perfect for demoing or whenever you use one Vive with many people. Simply wipe down the headset with antibacterial wipes in between uses and you are good to go again.

  • Karl

    Hi, i found lenses without distorsion on http://www.vr-lens.de. Works much more better then the vr lens leb lenses !