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Nov 14, 2020

Japanese robot-made eyeglasses combine the best of Warby Parker and Lenscrafters

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Buying a pair of prescription glasses is cumbersome process. Retail stores often charge hundreds of dollars—not including add-ons like UV coating—and require customers to return days or weeks later to pick up their spectacles.

Japanese eyewear maker JINS wants to change this. An unknown brand in the US, the Tokyo-based company is getting ready to expand outside of Asia and open its first US store this week. The outlet on San Francisco’s Powell Street—the heart of the city’s shopping district—will sell glasses ranging in price from $60 to $120 that take 30 minutes to make. (The price covers the frames, lenses, UV coating, and case; progressive, bifocal, colored, or polarized lenses will cost an additional $60 to $80.)

JINS is hoping Americans will start seeing glasses as an impulse buy—maybe something they might pick up to match an outfit.

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