Glass isn't the only thing that Google has plans for. Now, the company has set its sight on smart contact lenses. Reports suggest that Google has filed a patent for a contact lens with built-in-camera and sensors, which among other things could bring vision to the sight-impaired.
According to Yahoo, the proposed technology is equivalent to shrinking Google's Glass to the size of wearable contact lenses. The device could be controlled by a series of blinks, Yahoo said.
According to Patent Bolt, " A thin (image capture) camera component can be embedded on or within a contact lens such that it does not substantially affect thickness of a conventional contact lens. Furthermore, the camera component can be aligned such that it tracks and generates image data of an image of a scene corresponding to the gaze of the wearer, without obstructing the wearer's view."
It further said that the shift in wearer's gaze will be followed by the lens which means image data corresponding to shifted gaze will be captured.
CNET said the camera on the lens could take photosand help users navigate real world obstacles. The second application is expected to come in handy for the vision-impaired.
"The smart contact lens patent posits sensors in the lens that can look for light, colours, faces, movement and even specific objects. The lens could help vision-impaired people by, for example, spotting that the wearer is heading for a busy road and telling that person's smartphone to chirrup a warning -- and then inform the wearer when it's safe to cross," according to CNET.
Yahoo reported that Google's smart lens patent comes on the heels of the company's announcement of a prototype contact lens to monitor blood glucose levels. The diabetic lenses were developed in Google's secretive X labs and could be a boon for millions of people around the world afflicted with diabetes, Yahoo said.
