A unique technology has been developed by scientists which displays electronic messages sent from mobile phones onto contact lenses placed on the recipient’s eyes. The latest technology has been developed by Belgian researchers and allows information like text messages from a mobile phone to be sent to the contact lenses.
A spherical curved LCD display has been developed by Ghent University’s Centre of Micro Systems Technology, which can be embedded in contact lenses. The technology can also handle projected images with the help of wireless technology.
Professor Herbert De Smet said, “Now that we have established the basic technology, we can start working towards real applications, possibly available in only a few years”. The curved technology on the surface of the lens allows it to be used as a lens, unlike earlier contact lens displays which are limited to a few small pixels to make up a new image.
DeSmet, the chief researcher on the project said, “This is not science fiction,” and added that commercial applications will be available for the lenses in five years tiem. However, he also said that this can never be a replacement for films, but it can be interesting for specific applications to show images like road directions or projecting text messages from smartphones to the eyes.
