Researchers from the University of South Australia plan on taking wearable visual aids to a new level by turning contact lenses into computer screens, according to Phys.org.
Using an polymer film coating with the ability to conduct electricity, the research team has developed a proof of concept for their new invention- contact lenses that can receive electronic prompts, just like a computer screen.
"We're talking about anything from a simple sensor that can measure the amount of glucose in your blood through to actually creating electronic displays, so rather than having something like a pair of glasses that's acting like a computer, you can actually generate images directly on your contact lens," said Drew Evans, associate professor at the University of South Australia.
Evans and the team have been using decades of information to come up with this proof of concept, and once they have finished testing, they will team up with a manufacturer and launch a full scale production.
"We have always known that our film coating technologies had potential for many applications and now we have taken that a step further by proving that we can make biocompatible, conducting polymers at the nanoscale and grow them directly on a contact lens," Evans said.
Their research has been publish in the Dec. 23 issue of the journal ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces.
