Contact lens TV in 10 years?

Wed Feb 11, 2009 11:31AM EST

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Oh, the bother of having to be near an actual television when you want to watch a program! Researchers say those dark days may soon be behind us: Contact lenses that can beam video programming right into your eyeball may be just 10 years away from reality.

Ian Pearson, a futurist (not an engineer, mind you), says that body heat would provide all the energy needed to power the high-tech lenses. And that's not all: "Digital tattoos" could also be developed to allow wearers to literally feel the emotions that the director wants you to feel. Per the piece: "This would allow James Bond fans to feel the thrill of outdoing the enemy or sports fans to experience the elation of jubilant players."

Color me skeptical: Ten years seems like an awfully short time horizon for these developments. The technology for injecting an emotional state (er... legally and safely) via a skin patch is awfully out there, and contact lens TV suffers from the problem that the eye simply can't focus on objects that close to it. Some sort of projection system or complicated light-focusing arrangement could be a solution, but both of those technologies in a device the size of a contact lens are, again, currently far-fetched. People may also feel a bit squeamish about dropping a television into their eye socket... not to mention placing their emotional well-being in the hands of Hollywood.

The closest we can get to eyeball TV today? Head-mounted displays like the Vuzix line of "video eyewear." Throw in a super-sized Mountain Dew to simulate "the elation of jubilant players" and you're halfway to the future.

Image credit: University of Washington

Comments on Contact lens TV in 10 years?

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  • 46 Posted by n_marsh on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:42PM EDT Report Abuse

    Perhaps the emotional tatoo could be an alternative to the high some people get from drugs. It might be helpfull in preventing some drug addiction.

  • 47 Posted by gregfountain on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:12PM EDT Report Abuse

    The "eye" TV will come right after they implant ID Tracking chips into everyone. Seriously, why do such intelligent people waste their time with these idiotic ideas. Go invent a lightbulb that uses the energy that is contained in every particle that exists in the molecular fabric of our atmosphere instead of pollution driven electricity. Something like that.

  • 48 Posted by meghnath1 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:15PM EDT Report Abuse

    "Injecting an Emotional State?" What happens if there is a love scene in the movie? Are they going to "inject" us with an orgasm? What if it is a torture scene? The whole point of stories and movies is that we form our own opinions about the events and literary quality. Can they make us "feel" that their movie is a hit?

  • 49 Posted by bigjenwalker on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:07PM EDT Report Abuse

    People are laid off across everywhere, but there's funding somewhere for this useless piece of hardware? I just don't get it. If you're too busy to sit in front of the boob tube, you certainly don't need another distraction right on your eyeball. That will be the new wave of the furture, blue tooth on one ear, tv in your eye, and tattoo'd emotions. what next?..., virtual intercourse? Some folks need to go enjoy the countryside for awile in get back in touch with the beauties and wonders that already exist.

  • 50 Posted by meghnath1 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:15PM EDT Report Abuse

    This is serious, guys. If they can pull off just the TV-in-your-eye thing, do you know who wins? The DRM guys! who loses? You, the paying public! You can't make a copy of the content for later use, or convert it into another format, even after _paying_ for it. E.g. since DVD is obsolete, your movies that you bought on DVD may not be converted into Blu-Ray, unless you are willing to settle for low res. Now, if they send the video directly into your eye, then eliminate all other displays, it is impossible to copy them. After you buy a movie in Blu-Ray you will have to buy the same movie in the next-generation format in a few years, when there are no players available for Blu-Ray any more.

  • 51 Posted by xblack_valentine on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:51PM EDT Report Abuse

    Even if that did happen, which it probably won't, at least not for the next 30 years anyway, not everyone could enjoy it. Like people who fear touching there own eyes. I couldn't use it either as I don't have stereo vision and need the tv to from a distance to see it. I would only be able to see one lens at time with these.

  • 52 Posted by i3636i on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:22PM EDT Report Abuse

    If these lenses can make you actually "feel" specific emotions, perhaps they can also be used in a therapeutic way, to make people who suffer from depression feel happy!

  • 53 Posted by ejsimon69 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:52PM EDT Report Abuse

    These are some of the best posts I've seen. No major spelling or grammatical errors. You guys are some intelligent mo fos. Kudos. I have nothing more to add.

  • 54 Posted by danansan_ab on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:34PM EDT Report Abuse

    Why the heck would I want this? Imagine trying to ask a person if they want to go for a walk. They begin to cry for no apparent reason while staring blankly at the wall. You try and go give them a hug saying "It's OK, it's OK, tell me what's wrong...", then they jump off the chair shrieking violently. I think we already have enough autism to deal with.

  • 56 Posted by thejeff66 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:04PM EDT Report Abuse

    hmm seems like a nice way to brain wash someone, record something that makes the person rageful at a certain person with over stimulated tattoos and you'll be ready to kill or whatever the controller wants :]

  • 57 Posted by brown.brad@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:13PM EDT Report Abuse

    i would never say anything is impossible,i can remember when people laughed at somone that said we would have computers in our homes

  • 58 Posted by spike85051 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:36PM EDT Report Abuse

    bout time they come up with some cool ----- . Can you see through it like a hologram?? THAT would be cool. crap, i bet you don't ever wear contacts.what they can add to contacts, they can add to glasses. WOW!! emotions...on TV!! that's a thought. yeah, maybe um, just temperature and smell would do. safer that way. maybe save the emotions for a 'telepathy device'.....

  • 59 Posted by thegodsarenuts on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:04PM EDT Report Abuse

    I say bring on the contact TV. When I use to camp as a kid, and later in life with my own kids, I brought every modern convenience known to man with me. Wrong maybe but I thought it was cool to have modern things like that out in the woods. Now a TV while I'm sitting in a waiting room, or entertaining a boring person? Love it. I only hope I can live long enough to see this gadget in action.

  • 60 Posted by biomata on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:08PM EDT Report Abuse

    Again, I reiterate because a lot of you are missing the point, its not just TV. Wearable devices are just the next evolutionary step after the cell phone, which the world has already become astoundingly adapted to. Similar to what sherylw9 was saying, TV is just an example of the uses of the contact technology. It could provide a heads up display, showing you your schedule, the time, perhaps important notes about things you look at. The realm of global positioning could be revolutioned, allowing you to see a large arrow in the sky pointing the direction of your destination. Then there are all kinds of visual enhancements that could be utilized. Binocular and infrared vision only scratch the surface. The digital tattoos...perhaps not the greatest idea. But at least it gets people thinking, and inspires us to see what other great ideas we can create.

  • 61 Posted by ashleefergusen on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:58PM EDT Report Abuse

    Cool! Can I get those at http://www.contact.com Ha! They are kind of creepy!

  • 62 Posted by ruairi_irish on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:55PM EDT Report Abuse

    Emotional tatoos arent far fetched. Psychologically, if you experience an arousal, your body will attempt to explain it based on the situation. Therefore, it would really only take one patch to make you feel a whole range of emotions. For instance, when you are sexually aroused, angry, happy, etc., these all have the same physiological symptoms, and it just depends on the situation as to how these are interpreted. Just look at Aron and Dutton's famous bridge study.

  • 63 Posted by bdiaz28 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:04PM EDT Report Abuse

    Instead of coming up with ridiculous, unnecessary gadgets. Why aren't these people using thier knowlege to find a way to keep our world going strong, in case you haven't noticed our world is coming to an end.

  • 64 Posted by jdaxford on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:31PM EDT Report Abuse

    Good grief, our nation's emotional well-being has been largely in the hands of Hollywood since the 1960's.

  • 65 Posted by flyingpurplefox on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:01PM EDT Report Abuse

    That would be incredibly wierd. I mean, I wear contacts now, so to imagine something that close makes my eyes hurt. But you never know. After they make MAJOR adjustemts to it, it just might be nice. [I don't think so, but still.] But it would be totally cool to feel what the directors wanted you to feel! :) I will say its one of the more out there inventions for the future.

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