Contact lenses are not just translucent, rubbery things that enhance your eyesight. Very soon, you will be able to view life in 3D and keep good health without even having to visit your doctor. All you would need to do is wear a pair of bionic contact lenses. Such a pair is being developed by Babak Paza and his team of engineers from the University of Washington. Life is truly turning into a technicolored dream in which people shall stroll the streets in the pink of their health.
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3D just took a giant leap
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Contrary to what some self-appointed experts may claim, neither 3D gaming nor 3D movies have come of age. In fact watching a 3D movie like the Avatar is a torturous exercise. What with those inexplicably uncomfortable 3D glasses that movie theaters supply. On the other hand, these contact lenses shall revolutionize 3D movies and make all the Playstations and Xboxs of the world look as obsolete as the film camera.
Using cutting-edge nanotechnology, these lenses have been fitted with minute electronic circuits and LEDs. These create a virtual display to appear in front of you as if it is dangling in thin air. It can also be turned on and off, whenever you want. Paza says, “Looking through a completed lens, you would see what the display is generating superimposed on the world outside”.
Once this technology is fully operational, you can do away with those dreary 3D glasses. You will not only feel like you are watching a movie but that you are a part of it. 3D gaming would become ultra-mind-boggling, real to the point of giving you a heart attack when bullets fly right past you ear. Gaming then would not be for the faint hearted.
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You don’t need to visit the doctor
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Babak’s dynamic team of engineers has already come up with contact lenses that can read your sugar levels. What they are working on is a way to pass on this information to your doctor without you having to visit him for a physical checkup.
A network of miniscule antennas, radio, chips and LEDs are being built for the contact lenses. This will enable the lenses to conduct other medical examinations, besides measuring glucose and then pass on the information. This is only the start of what the technology has in store for the medical fraternity. What you could expect is a sensory system embedded in the lenses which monitors any fluctuations in your health and sends that data immediately. This could act as a preemptive measure to arresting the growth of diseases and preventing them from becoming malignant.
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Where else could this technology go?
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Babak and his team are very excited about where this technology could go. The lenses are already enabled with sensors which can transfer information; the next step is to connect it with the Internet. You wouldn’t need computers to check your mails, you could simply read them while you are jogging or doing something. This would truly be the pinnacle of augmented reality where you don’t require gadgets like your television, tablets or even smartphones. You would just need to turn on the virtual display to watch a movie or make a call by simply staring at a wall onto which the projection of a virtual keypad would appear, where you can type the phone number.
The possibilities are endless. It can make the dreams of hardcore gamers come true. It can also save lives by helping doctors diagnose fatal diseases like cancer in its early stages. Most importantly, it will bridge the gap between our physical and virtual world.
Image credit: University of Washington
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