Participate in the advantages of augmented reality… but with smart contact lenses

In the wake of the augmented reality glasses revolution, led by Google Glass, another possibility has arisen, in prototype phase, to see in detail and in 3D objects programmed by QR codes: augmented reality contact lenses.

Among the latest developments around glasses that use augmented reality technology (AR), a new market that Google Glass leads to date, Some research teams have gone further with prototypes of augmented reality glasses or contact lenses., an experimental field but with continuous advances.

One of these AR contact lens developments is Imageware, a Japanese prototype that converts a user's field of vision into a screen to see objects and information programmed with QR codes in detail and three-dimensionally, that incorporates a sensor inside the lenses that allows vision from any angle and in real time.

AR Imageware contact lenses arise from the collaboration and research of a group of researchers from Japanese universities, Korean and American companies backed by technology companies such as Canon and Samsung, in the first cases.

The prototype incorporates an LED (light emitting diode) in each lens, Although the main challenge is the material used, due to permanent contact with the eye, so for their design they use a soft conductive material, elastic and, of course, transparent formed by microwires that are placed between layers of graphene.

The results of the tests carried out by this multidisciplinary team of researchers are that this type of lenses can be used for about five hours without discomfort to the eye., tested so far only on rabbits.

Another of the leading developments in smart glasses is that of the Swiss biotechnology company Sensimed., in whose research group Babak Parviz is located, one of the leaders of the Google Glass project. These lenses incorporate microelectromechanical systems (Mems) with sensors, processors, power supplies, wireless antenna, etc.

Also, The main challenge of this prototype is to eliminate the rigidity of the lenses and discover biocompatible and transparent components, capable of being sterilized and at low cost for future commercialization. This development, whose advances have been published in the scientific publication Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, It is based on the design of a circuit from a sheet (first metal and then plastic) just a few nanometers thick, on which light-emitting diodes a third of a millimeter wide and an electronic circuit are inserted.

The multilayer system integrated into the lens of this prototype, denominado Contact Lens Display (CLD), consists of a layer of liquid crystal, polarizing filters to form the pixels and a microchip that transforms these pixels into letters or signs, Although another obstacle is that they have not managed to use the entire surface of the contact lens as a screen and individually control the projected pixels..

All of these prototypes continue to evolve to, mainly, achieve a system suitable so that the human eye does not suffer and has a complete vision of the intelligent image at such a minimum distance from the cornea.