Roboticians

[drk]

This is a touchy subject.

I envision a dystopian future where no real opticians exist. No optician that has ever heard of, let alone knows how to measure pantoscopic tilt. No remaining optician guild that teaches the dark arts of lateral chromatic aberration control and lens material. It's an fugly future.




But wait. There is a solution. Roboticians. I bring you: https://shamir.com/in/spark-4w/

[dwlk]

most of my patients are older and dont even really know how to use the ipad to check in, cant imagine them liking this over the norm

[Uncle Fester]

I gots your dystopian future right here doc!!!

Who needs a refraction and fitting?

The next step is going to be genetic manipulations in utero.

No???

[King of the Lab]

I have the 2nd generation of this device, and as it grows just another layer of dust way up high on the shelf it is on, my pd ruler & marker smiles proudly as it resides in my pocket.

[DanLiv]

This is just the evolution of digital measurement devices, and measurements will be 100% accurately automated in the near future anyway. This should not concern good opticians. (Heck, I use a visioffice now and enjoy barely taking measurements, and I'm a fan of streamlining it even further!) What makes good opticians is not taking accurate measurements or operating measuring devices, or even making quality eyewear. What makes a good optician is the ability to consult with customers, to identify their vision needs and devise solutions, and navigate them through the esoteric world of ophthalmic optics where there is too little public information for them to be able to make informed decisions on their own.

People actually wearing glasses know more about cars, tvs, makeup, and Kardashians than they know about both their own eyewear needs or how to solve them. Until detailed consumer information becomes widely available, AND the public becomes interested enough in optics to do the consumer research themselves, opticians who are good consultants will have a place.

"Opticians" who believe in gatekeeping PDs and seg heights to maintain relevance (like ODs gatekeep refraction) should be concerned, because they will become obsolete.

[drk]

Well, I'm fascinated a little bit. Fascinated enough to spend $5000? Fascinated enough to wrestle with my legacy optician to do something complicated when something simple works? Probably not.

But in 2030, when the only optician left on earth is Barry Santini's brain transplanted into a 20-year-old Korean-girl-inspired robot, I'm going to need help. That's where Spark could come in. Take a photo. Measure with tools on a screen. All different camera angles available for POW.

[drk]

DanLiv is always right, and you're so right here.

(Except for that refraction part, but I forgive you.)

[Uncle Fester]

"Doctors, residents, and pre-med students forced to endure organic chemistry and medical school anatomy were floored when they learned OpenAI's ChatGPT successfully passed U.S. Medical Licensing Exams.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/prescriptionsforabrokensystem/105540

[optical24/7]

OD’s will be replaced with AI before Opticians….(there, I said it.)

[drk]

Better not hope so, or I will be living in YOUR basement, 24/7.

[optical24/7]

Doc, I already told you that you’re more than welcome to stay in one of my deer stands on the back 40. 15 ft high elevated view, insulated with cardboard on the inside wall and all the game you can eat! ( mostly possums back there, but I heard they’re delicious roasted on a spit, according to Fezz..)

[wmcdonald]

2001 thread, with some interesting information on tilt. Some Opticians (capital O) absolutely understand and can compensate for tilt. https://www.optiboard.com/forums/sho...rmula-for-Tilt

[DanLiv]

Well, I'm fascinated a little bit. Fascinated enough to spend $5000? Fascinated enough to wrestle with my legacy optician to do something complicated when something simple works? Probably not.

Oh I misunderstood the gist of your OP as pure snark and didn't get that you have interest in the device. If you don't have a digital measuring device, I think you should get one.

Not for accuracy, not for speed (these are marginal benefits), but for the impression it gives your customer. They can already get rudimentary digital measurements at many retail opticals, and if those businesses are training their staff correctly those opticians are explaining to every customer the superiority of that system. We know it's not *superior*, but its a lot of work to dissuade a former retail customer of that notion while you're touting the advanced technological benefits of your $800 progressive lenses but wielding pen and pd stick, or the beat-up and miscalibrated faded grey pupillometer.

My visioffice is great. It's a seven-foot-tall black and white space-age-looking monolith that fascinates my customers. I laud the speed, accuracy, and rapid collection of multiple data points of the system, and it makes an impression. I explain it is an extension and symbol of our practice's commitment to the most advanced equipment and technology.

Yes some of it is theater. But there was a two-year period during the pandemic, between the break-down of my old visioffice and when I got this replacement, that I went back to pen and pd stick. There was no notable backlash about going back to the old ways, but once I got that visioffice back, the wow-factor was undeniable. Now when I start discussing measurements, repeat customers even point to the behemoth and ask me in anticipation "Is this when we use that thing?" It has an impact all on it's own, and if you buy into it and sell its benefits, it can become a feature.

[drk]

You are forward-looking. I'm interested in the possibility of using "lesser-trained" staff for "optical overflow" situations...

[KrystleClear]

This is just the evolution of digital measurement devices, and measurements will be 100% accurately automated in the near future anyway. This should not concern good opticians. (Heck, I use a visioffice now and enjoy barely taking measurements, and I'm a fan of streamlining it even further!) What makes good opticians is not taking accurate measurements or operating measuring devices, or even making quality eyewear. What makes a good optician is the ability to consult with customers, to identify their vision needs and devise solutions, and navigate them through the esoteric world of ophthalmic optics where there is too little public information for them to be able to make informed decisions on their own.

People actually wearing glasses know more about cars, tvs, makeup, and Kardashians than they know about both their own eyewear needs or how to solve them. Until detailed consumer information becomes widely available, AND the public becomes interested enough in optics to do the consumer research themselves, opticians who are good consultants will have a place.

"Opticians" who believe in gatekeeping PDs and seg heights to maintain relevance (like ODs gatekeep refraction) should be concerned, because they will become obsolete.

Good points!

Also, if we did get replaced, would there be robots to do repairs and adjustments? Getting a robot to put a nut and bolt on a frame with a eyewire barrel with stripped threads seems like something that would take a lot of engineering. Can AI chip away layers of nose cheese on a crusty nosepad to get to the screwhead? (That actually WOULD be a good thing...)