Opto-Electronic contact lens shows "display screen"

The University of Washington in Seattle has been working on the development of an Opto-Electronic contact lens.

The latest prototype, the handiwork of Dr. Babak Parviz : is a semi-transparent array including an LED embedded into a contact lens receiving 330 microwatts of power wirelessly from a nearby RF Transmitter . The prototype is used to display bio sensor feedback about the wearer’s vital signs, but the company plans to use them to store much more data in the future. The power is picked up by a loop antenna in the lens, and future iterations of the hardware are expected to integrate the transmitter into a cellphone.

There will be far more to come, with much better resolution. “Conventional contact lenses are polymers formed in specific shapes to correct faulty vision. To turn such a lens into a functional system, we integrate control circuits, communication circuits, and miniature antennas into the lens using custom-built opto-electronic components. Those components will eventually include hundreds of LEDs, which will form images in front of the eye, such as words, charts, and photographs. Much of the hardware is semitransparent so that wearers can navigate their surroundings without crashing into them or becoming disoriented.” Dr Parviz plans to see the lenses being used for more than just displaying data, his eventual goal is to make the contact lens a platform, “like the iPhone is today.”

Sources and related articles:
Bioptics World
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