Scientists from NTU Singapore have developed a flexible battery as thin as a human cornea, which stores electricity when it is immersed in saline solution, and which could one day power smart contact lenses.

Scientists invent micrometers-thin battery charged by saline solution that could power smart contact lenses::Scientists from NTU Singapore have developed a flexible battery as thin as a human cornea, which stores electricity when it is immersed in saline solution, and which could one day power smart contact lenses.

  • jBlightEnglish
    12•10 months ago

    Would you be able to close your eyes to not see anything/ads? I don’t know much about the tech, but I would assume a light is being emitted from the contact lenses and since that’s behind your eye lids…

    • @[email protected]English
      6•10 months ago

      I have no idea but I think anything that emit light would drain the battery to quickly.

      I would imagine it would more like a e-paper screen.

      • Troy DowlingEnglish
        6•10 months ago

        I have no idea how these work, but one hack idea off the cuff:

        You get the light for free. At least when your lids are open; that’s how vision works. A cheap digital watch lasts ages on a tiny coin cell because the polarisation of the LCD, which passes or blocks polarised light, takes minimal energy. Stack up a passive polariser, and the active LCD-like layer, (and maybe a second passive layer?) and you can cast selective shadows on the retina.

        This gives you monochrome “smart vision” in the same sense as a monochrome Casio wristwatch. No idea how to tackle issues of focus at such a short focal length, or achieving any sort of active display let alone colour.

        Maybe the whole thing is a pipe dream crackpot idea.

      • @[email protected]English
        1•10 months ago

        Light intensity is inversely proportional to the square of the distance. A light that’s only a few microns away from your cornea would look incredibly bright even with minimal power.