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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  • 66 Posted by thesonicguy93 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:05PM EDT Report Abuse

    It sounds unsafe, Who wants a TV in their eye? This is some thing I will never want to use.

  • 67 Posted by clsygrm on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:27PM EDT Report Abuse

    For the one who mentioned 'grandparents', I am one. I'm just one who looks at all of these new so-called 'necessary improvements' and think about all of the already lazy people in this world! Maybe we will all end up looking like the aliens w/big eyes, nose holes and maybe a tiny little mouth, scrawny body w/no muscles, etc. Not my idea of a glamor guy or gal! Just think, next they will be trying to sell us some inovation that completely 'thinks' for us! Matrix, here we come!!! lol!!!

  • 68 Posted by rachelhaley96 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:25PM EDT Report Abuse

    what about the idiot who is watching an exciting episode of 24 while driving his car, and he plows over an entire school crossing of kids? I can already see the lawsuits lining up! People cant even drive while changing the channel on their radio, and now we are to be distracted with watching TV while we drive? lmao. Sorry Chris, this is one that will never make it to market. We already have laws in place that ban driving while talking on the phone, How will the officer know the person is watching TV, or just simply stupid? I give this item a big thumbs down!

  • 69 Posted by allenehrl on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:51PM EDT Report Abuse

    Technology never advances on a grand scale, only on a cost effective microscale. We have widescreen TVs and cellphones, but we will never have holographic video games that put you in the world of the game or the ability to teleport ourselves all over the world or the universe in Beam Me Up Scotty fashion. We can only work within very miniscule environments. Doing anything on a grand scale is logistically impossible. It takes five years to build a new attraction at Epcot or Universal Studios that lasts only four minutes. Multiply that a billion fold to cover the whole world with a futuristic project of that magnitude and it would take a million years. We'd get way too exhausted before we could ever complete anything on a grand scale.

  • 70 Posted by alimorn on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:50PM EDT Report Abuse

    Bring me my arrows of burning code, bring me my bow of design. Plug me in, you crazy futurists, imprint your circuits over my CNS and let me ride the light. I can't wait. Turn me on, tune me in, and drop me off. Strip me of flesh and make me of thought and light alone. Plug me in.

  • 71 Posted by choochoo15084 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:23PM EDT Report Abuse

    I feel the matter of feeding people in the next 10 years should take precedence over this.

  • 72 Posted by alienhobbit on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:50PM EDT Report Abuse

    This is reminding me of that creepy Star Trek TNG episode The Game. You might have seen how that went.

  • 73 Posted by kutison on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:54PM EDT Report Abuse

    I prefer to think of myself as someone who embraces technology, but this just seems like such a waste. I would much rather have the people thinking this stuff up spend their time figuring out how to fix the eyes that their T.V.s are ruining in the first place. But then again, people tripping due to bad eyesight makes good T.V in the first place. And now we have a harmful cycle

  • 74 Posted by flashgordon2243 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:00PM EDT Report Abuse

    Not possible within the next ten years. These researchers are just looking for someone to bite and increase their funding. Each one of these contacts would have to be custom made for every patient. (I say patient because contacts are medical devices similar to implants, and require an Optometrist or Ophthalmologist assessment to clear you for use) This custom workmanship requires a precision that nobody is going to be able to pay for to ever make it feasible.

  • 75 Posted by novokshc on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:41PM EDT Report Abuse

    Change your emotions to simulate the high from a drug without any of the physical damage, then turn it off when you want to sober up. I don't see anyone using digital tattoos to allow others to manipulate their emotions, but creating drug sensations, I can see.

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

    Again.... TV is just ONE example of what this technology can do. I think very few people will actually use the contacts solely for television. Most likely it'll be a heads up display to show pertinent information such as one's schedule, a GPS, and other tools that will make life easier on all of us.

  • 77 Posted by t.lady22 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:53PM EDT Report Abuse

    There are so many health issues that require resaerch, and they are thinking of something like this.................

  • 78 Posted by mgtears1 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:17PM EDT Report Abuse

    It is just basic stupidity, not needed and with all the problems the world has facing it this just dumb.

  • 79 Posted by randajosh89 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:28PM EDT Report Abuse

    uh... well it might be dangerous but, I think it'd be sweet haha... you would never miss an episode of 2 and a half men!

  • 80 Posted by tcolopy2 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:57PM EDT Report Abuse

    Some tech people just dont want even if they can have it. Like the video phone. People like talking without seeing each other, its the visual privacy factor. Yes we have video conferencing but video phone did not replace the normal phone. In other words if they tech does not adapt to our cultural lifestyles we may not accept them. K5 point is good- contact lens tv/computer may not safely intergrate into our car driving culture. But then i think if we had "smart cars" that drove us safely everywhere then maybe it can safely exist.

  • 81 Posted by j_smilanic on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:45PM EDT Report Abuse

    There is a lot of stuff out there that WE the general public are not aware......to say that this is far fetched is about as far fetch as it was back in the 60's and the thought of a man landing on the moon. Give me a break.........too many advances in a short period of time from moon landings to microchips the size of a pinhead that weild unlimited power and storage....... look at WII games and thats not close enough?? dude...put the crack pipe away

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

    Don't forget, this is probably being developed by the military, so therefore its helping fight to win the war on terror. there... that probably convinced a couple hundred its a good idea. lol. :)

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

    A commonly conceived notion in computer science is Moore's Law, which basically states that every two years, processing speed, storage space, etc. doubles. Ten years ago we could hardly conceive of an entire gigabyte of storage space. Now I can by a terabyte sized external hard drive at Best Buy for $120. And did we even have touch screen cell phones two years ago? My guess is that ten years is probably a wide estimate of when this technology will be available, and we will start seeing it in more like five.

  • 84 Posted by johntae71 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:39PM EDT Report Abuse

    Most of you are missing the point. With ubiquitous high speed wireless and the miniaturization and melding of computers, light weight high resolution screens that can be fit on a pair of glasses or contacts will allow you stay online every waking moment of your day. My Iphone is more capable than my first PC computer already. In 10 years with motion recognition software/hardware built into wrist bands so you can use a virtual keyboard and a glasses mounted mounted screen all connected to a "smart" phone that's always connected you'll be fully plugged into the net no matter where you go. Of course Privacy will be a thing of the past, but you'll just have to deal with that as a fact of modern life. Who knows, with GPS phones street signs might go out of vogue.

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