Contact lenses with circuits, lights a possible platform for enhanced vision

Engineers at the University of Washington have manufactured contact lenses that contain electronic circuits and red LEDs.

The circuits don't actually do anything yet—and don’t seem like they will be doing anything anytime soon—but the contacts are a pretty impressive feat of engineering.

In order to embed a metal electronic circuit in a flexible and safe contact lens (the rabbits wore the contacts for 20 minutes with “no adverse effects”), the researchers used layers of metal only a few nanometers thick and manufactured LEDs only a third of a millimeter across. They then sprinkled the system with tiny, self-assembling electrical components.

The researchers hope that the system will soon be able to superimpose images—such as driving control panels and immersive virtual games—over the wearer's view of the outside world.

The press release also claims that people could “surf the Internet on a midair virtual display screen that only they would be able to see”—although the idea of people crossing the street while their entire visual field is filled with porn is a little disconcerting.

Click here for full article from the University of Washington