Back in 2009, we wrote about a contact lens in the works that displayed visual feedback right before your eyes, Terminator style. Well, two years and a few months later, Professor Babak Parviz has a working model. He has given the new lens to rabbits, and reports complete success.
The device's display has only one pixel, but serves as a working proof-of-concept for developing more complex information lenses. A useful device would need hundreds of pixels at least, to display a short email or text message.
The lens harvests energy from an external source using an antenna and has an integrated circuit to store the harvested power and transfer it to a transparent sapphire chip with a single blue LED. Unfortunately, while the range of the display was about one meter in free space, that range was reduced to about two centimeters when it was placed on the eye.
Another of the challenges facing the creation of a Terminator-style eye display is that the minimum focal distance of a human eye is only a few centimeters. This means that information displayed on a contact lens would appear blurry. To address this, the researchers used thin Fresnel lenses to magnify the display.
More research is needed before we'll be able to read text on our eyeballs though. "We need to improve the antenna design and the associated matching network and optimize the transmission frequency to achieve an overall improvement in the range of wireless transmission," said Parviz, co-author of the study. "Our next goal, however, is to incorporate some predetermined text in the contact lens."
Five amazing, clean technologies that will set us free, in this month's energy-focused issue. Also: how to build a better bomb detector, the robotic toys that are raising your children, a human catapult, the world's smallest arcade, and much more.


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yes!!! i want to use this. i hope they incorporate xray vision with this. this seems a lot safer than lasek. plus it has wifi. imagine just thinking something(like a complicated math problem) and it automatically giving you the answer. this will do wonders with self thinking computers. we will have infinite knowledge. we will no longer have to read. its just like telepathy. we will no longer have to use cell phones.
The ‘Singularity’ draws closer my friends.
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The people of the world only divide into two kinds, One sort with brains who hold no religion, The other with religion and no brain.
- Abu-al-Ala al-Marri
i mean quantum computers. we will be like gods. than we will figure out how to travel faster than the speed of light. we will in a sense know everything. we shall be "all knowing".
_________________
The people of the world only divide into two kinds, One sort with brains who hold no religion, The other with religion and no brain.
- Abu-al-Ala al-Marri
JediMindset,
As much as I can see your medicine kicked in at the end and you found the use of capitals in sentences. I still feel they need to up the medication as you still lost your mind.
Oh, just to let you know, I am joking. ;)
I think it would be sexy to have eyes like this.
Plus, I could watch TV, browse the internet and drive my car.
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Science sees no further than what it can sense.
Religion sees beyond the senses.
Consider the illustrated picture eye in this article. I find it impossible to believe this eye is human. This electronic device must be test on an animal and this is the picture being shown to us now.
Just look at the eye lashes and hair around the eye!
If this animal is a test subject for this electronic eye, I wonder how they know if it sees, if it sees well or anything? How do they know it's perception of things and if the device is working?
@Grunt
The first paragraph states "He has given the new lens to rabbits, and reports complete success." I imagine this is more than likely a picture of the rabbit with the lens. As for how they know if it can see, they don't really need to. If you consider the extensive research done for optic capabilities of humans, and implement that research here, then we already know that the eye can only focus on a point within a given range. This is where the modification of the lens magnification was introduced so we have a better focal capability. As for determining if there was any visible display from the individual pixel; consider this, when a pixel goes out on a monitor it is pretty easy to see, now on a clear lens a single illuminated pixel would stand out just a vividly. Now the only question I have is are the electrical components also transparent or are they just a blur, kinda like having an eyelash in your eye, you can't see it clearly but you can see the blur and you know it's there as a result.
Golgunoth,
I highly appreciate your response and yes this ultimately comes back the human endeavor and what can be perceived.
Thank you for your points.
Thanks to mr babek for his achievement or we can say it is greatest achievement of mankind. I wanna suggest mr babek if he can merge his contact lens with mr mistry's sixth sence technology. I hope if mr Steve jobs lived he can do a greatest invention with the help of these two new technology. May apple adopts it. Waiting for final outcome. Thanks again
@Rajeev
So if this gets developed, and Apple adopts the technology, would that make this the iEye?
Possibly the iSee, or even just the i. Perhaps iHaveIt?
No, I got it, so it will be said the same, but a while new spin...
eyePod, eyephone, eyePad, etc.
One guy sitting next to another guy with electronic eyess, nudges him.
“Hey buddy, digga see that?”
The guy responses:
"Everything I see is digital, what do you mean?"
Bu-du dum dum,lol.
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Science sees no further than what it can sense.
Religion sees beyond the senses.
The eyePhone is already Trade Marked by Mom's Corp. (via Futurama).
I am only afraid, that if every answer will be given to us instantly, we forget to think, and this would be the easiest way to mass manipulation.
Enlightenment from an older guy.........Interesting concept of maintaining the health of the mind and body by physical exerted energy, been a concept for some time. But wouldn't the healthy mind maintain itself with influxed energy? Maybe the brain or the ("soul"?) would become fed by energy instead of physical fuel. Maybe this would eliminate the need for a true physical environment and even sleep would not be necessary. I've been around a long time (physically). I've seen a lot of technology and have been amazed at the apparent slow paced progression.(so it seemed). Technological changes grow exponentially. (Space program)(cell phones) {Remote Control(infra-red...this was absolute magic when I was a kid)
These limitations of scope with the eye and mind focusing on the finest particles are fundamental. Remember the smaller the pixel the less energy is necessary. With internet contact lenses a reality, maybe the next short termed exponential transition would be to eliminate necessary physical visual energy to the eye and allow the brain to create its own imagery at 1/10000000 the energy.
Rhutchin02,
Ya know my father actually make perfect scores all his life. I mean can you just imagine make 100%, just always. And while I was a child he always attended college during the nights after is job. His college transcripts are a gigantic thick book, dense and in all of it is a perfect score 100%, A.
My father is a wonderful person and well in his retirement and old age he pushes away computers. He says he given too much of his own life in front of those machines.
I think you sir write a good story, but I do not think your story real and you age represented by the story is factious.
Sorry to say, but it is what I feel.
Still, I do write a good yard or joke on POPSCI now and then.
I do wish you a wonderful Thanks Giving and wish you well!
.............................
Science sees no further than what it can sense.
Religion sees beyond the senses.
fictious to say.
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Science sees no further than what it can sense.
Religion sees beyond the senses.
I'm not sure how to suscribe to these comments so if you have the energy to send me your comments or how to set up email threads or (........)("insert boring word blog").... (I hate the word blog) Email me if you have the energy. Thanks
Rhutchin02,
I really do not know you age and in that regard I take my comment. I have no wish to be an antagonist or be troll like. Take care. ;)
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Science sees no further than what it can sense.
Religion sees beyond the senses.
So they did experimentation on this bunny. I wonder, was the vision of this bunny ok, before they removed its lens and inserted this electronic digital thing? How do they know this bunny sees are just functions by other very sensitive senses? Is this bunny still alive today and being taken care of? Does this bunny live a life in a box, only to be probed and tested ongoing?
Do my questions bother you scientist? They are in themselves questions and you cannot stop questions can you. That would be unscientific and irresponsible; like you in this case.
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I am just so Qurious!
"Did you not read the article? Even if you only looked at the pictures you could see the nictatine. Membrane in the eye. That plus the fur growing right up to the opening of the eye socket.
takecare
dray
A traveler has no protection besides his fire-arms; and the constant habit of carrying them is the main check to more frequent robberies" --Charles Darwin from The Voyage Of The Beagle
New technology is promising. However it is also potentially dangerous with consideration to the possible effects of electro magnetic force on your eyes.
OMG!!!, this must be the most amazing gadget i have ever heard in my entire life...
I WANT SOME!!!