Scientists at the University of California San Diego have developed contact lenses that zoom when you blink twice - proving that the future really is here.
Shengqiang Cai and his colleagues created a lens that is controlled by your eye movements. It moves side to side or up and down, depending on where you look. And all you have to do to create your own camera lens is blink twice.
The science behind the contact lens is just as complicated as you'd think. Simply put, there's a lot of electricity behind those eyes of yours. These scientists measured the eye's natural electric potential (official science speak: electrooculographic signals), then created a soft lens that responds to that energy.
The lens responds differently depending on what signal it receives. The contacts are made out of polymers that expand when the eye's electric current is applied. When these polymers become convex, the lens zooms. The scientists' paper abstract reads:
"In the current work, a novel human–machine interface is developed to use electrooculographic signals generated by eye movements to control the motions and the change of focal length of a biomimetic soft lens."
Find out if you're hurting your eyes when you sleep in your contacts:If you're lucky enough to have 20/20 vision, don't worry. Once these bad boys hit the market, you can wear them even if you don't need contacts or glasses. It's not about sight, it's all about the zoom.
Additionally, in the future, these scientists hope to use these contact lenses for prosthetic eyes, eye-controlled cameras, adjustable glasses, and even remotely operated robotics.
While I still need convincing that I need a tiny robot over my iris, there's no doubt this crazy invention has some practical uses. Move over Google Glass, this piece of work is here to stay.
