Connected smart lenses for eye health ?

May 26, 2019

Myopia, hyperopia, strabismus, astigmatism … So many eye problems that affect us all indirectly or indirectly. Worldwide, there are 4.6 billion people according to Essilor. In other words, for companies, there is clearly a market. Connected objects and technology glasses have long been established in the field of health. But the problem of sight was until then too often ignored. Today, several companies, including Google, Sony and Samsung, are working on the manufacture of connected smart lenses. What would be the benefits? How does the connected lenses work? Are we talking about a technological gadget or a real breakthrough in terms of health? We are tuning with you.

Samsung’s connected smart lenses

The described contact lens will be powered by energy, which will be provided by an element that will produce electricity by converting the energy generated by the movement of the eye. Samsung has even planned a miniature capacitor, able to store energy when needed.

On the user side, the lens will be equipped with a screen and a photo sensor. The screen will allow you to consult data from the internet. As for the photo sensor, it will take a snapshot in a blink of an eye or capture a video faithful to the gaze.

Other electronics manufacturers have moved to the technology of connected lenses. Sony has filed a patent for a camera system in the form of a contact lens. Google would go further by preparing a connected lens directly grafted on the eye.

Google’s connected lenses

Google is the first company to have begun to position itself in connected smart lenses research. By 2015, the American company had already filed two patents! Google started with prototypes for presbyopes but especially for diabetics. The company wanted to allow them to monitor the evolution of blood glucose in real time thanks to the contents of the tears. A process that would prevent them from getting stung several times a day. For presbyopes, the prototype included mini-sensors able to adapt the vision according to the ambient light.

But the Mountain View company is now working on an intraocular lens, that is to say directly grafted on the eye. The idea is to replace the natural lens of the eye to correct the sight. But these connected lenses would not stop there. The idea is indeed to ship sensors, a battery and a radio component to communicate. This new patent still seems to be science fiction but leaves room for thought. And if we could one day take a picture directly with his eye?

Sony’s connected lenses

Sony is the third player on the connected lens market. The most unexpected but the most discreet too. However, things should change rather quickly. The US Patent and Trademark Office validated in early February a patent application filed in April 2016.

The Sony lens would have many sensors capable of detecting the blinks of the eye and determine if they are voluntary or reflex order. She could interpret these blinks as orders to perform certain actions, such as taking a picture or a video. For this, all the electronics needed for shooting and storing data could be embedded directly around the eye. Finally, piezoelectric sensors would be able to convert the movements of the eye into energy to power the lens.