Sony has filed a patent for a contact lens that will allow users to record and play back video images.
The proposed design would build on both contact lens and smartphone technology, and will be controlled by the user blinking.
The abstract from the US patent application reads as follows:
Object: To provide a contact lens and storage medium capable of controlling an image pickup unit provided in the contact lens.
Solution: Provided is a contact lens including: a lens unit configured to be worn on the eyeball; an image pickup unit configured to capture a picture of a subject, the image pickup unit being provided in the lens unit; and an image pickup control unit configured to control the image pickup unit.
The patent, number US 2016/0097940 A1, is for a contact lens and storage medium.
The application describes the contact lens as having an image pickup function and can perform predetermined image pickup in accordance with blinking or the like of the user.
“This makes it possible to make an intelligent contact lens, thereby remarkably improving usability for the user,” it reads.
Users will be able to use eye blinks to flick through commands, with the lens differentiating between conscious and unconscious blinking by differences in the duration.
In addition, the patent details how the device would be able to adjust zoom, focus, and aperture like smartphones do today.
Contact lens camera on the cards
