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A new patent has surfaced at the USPTO by Google. After detailing a basic smart lens that can help measure glucose levels, the company is continuing work and research on smart contact lenses, and their latest invention sounds quite ridiculous.
The patent details an intraocular smart lens which can be injected into the human eye using a medical procedure that uses a binding liquid to keep the lens fixated within your eye. The smart lens’ primary function seems to be helping a user see better by focusing more light onto the retina, which in-turn improves the focal capabilities of the eye.
That’s sort of what an ordinary contact lens does, but Google’s system seems to be very interesting:
- The patent details elements that include the lens having its own battery that can be charged using wirelessly transmitted energy, sort of like Energous’ Wattup.
- The lens could have antennae for wirelessly communicating with an external controller, such as a smartphone.
- It could also have its own storage unit for temporarily storing data that could later be synced to your smartphone.
Sounds a lot like Google Glass, albeit without a display — we haven’t reached that Terminator-like future just yet, but it seems inevitable!
To be clear, intraocular lenses already exist, though not to the level which implants circuitry and smart technology in your eyes. We’re not sure why Google would anticipate the need for smart tech for the purposes this sort of device would be used for. Our best guess is that it could provide doctors with data that could help determine how a patient’s vision is responding to corrective surgery over time.
But, as usual, a patent never fully discloses the intentions of the company which filed it, so we’re left to our own devices to figure out what Google has up its sleeve. We’re not quite at a point where we can become Terminator overnight, but the company seems forever dedicated to seeing how far they can stretch the bar when it comes to bioelectronics.
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