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GHENT, Belgium — Researchers have developed an LCD display that can be embedded in a contact lens and wirelessly handle projected images.
The difference between the lenses and previous embeddable screens is the amount of pixels that can be used: previous LED-based screens could only handle a few pixels. The new LCD-based screens, in covering the entire lens, open up a variety of never-before-seen uses.
Researchers at the Centre of Microsystems Technology at Ghent University say what appears on the lenses will not be visible to the person wearing them, because the eyes will not focus at that close of a range, according to Engadget.
Currently, the display is limited to simple designs, but could be used to act as sunglasses, or to change the color of the wearer's irises based on the person's mood.
After further development, the lenses may be used for medical purposes — to control light transmission to the retina — or as a head-up display, allowing users to view images overlaying their surroundings.
"This is not science fiction," Jelle De Smet, the chief researcher on the project, told the Telegraph. "This will never replace the cinema screen for films. But for specific applications it may be interesting to show images such as road directions or projecting text messages from our smart phones straight to our eye."
De Smet believes the lenses will be available commercially within five years, and is the first step toward contact lens displays with as much detail as a television screen.
