Cyborg glasses let wearer fake emotions

Google Glass is no longer the weirdest high-tech eyewear, thanks to a Japanese researcher who has invented an even more horrifying spectacle.

A pair of glasses built by Professor Hirotaka Osawa, from Japan's University of Tsukuba, have two organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screens where the lenses would normally be fitted.

The "AgencyGlass" displays a creepy pair of computer-animated eyes that hide the wearer's real ones.

The glasses, which don't hinder vision, allow their wearer to take a stealthy nap or hide where they are looking.

But they also have a more serious purpose.

Professor Osawa told the BBC that the glasses could someday be worn by people who frequently interact with others in their jobs — such as nurses, teachers and therapists — to disguise their fatigue or make them appear more emotionally engaged.

AgencyGlass is fitted with sensors that monitor a user's movements and reflects them onto the animated lenses.

For example, if the user inclines their head the eyes look up and if they nod the eyes blink.

Professor Osawa says he intends to expand his research by creating another displays that mimics a user's smile.