​Samsung patents AR contact lens with built in camera

This isn't going to happen any time soon
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A Samsung patent has been uncovered for a connected contact lens designed to beam images straight onto the retina.

The report by SamMobile shows a filing from South Korea, back from 2014, which shows a contact lens that hosts a display, camera, sensors to control the various feature using blinks, and an antenna, presumably to maintain a link to a connected smartphone.

Essential reading: 8 awesome Amazing AR demos

The lens can then fire digital images onto your eye, for the ultimate augmented reality experience, and even record your surroundings, like a super-sneaky terminator.

SamMobile reports that the patent is designed to overcome the limited functionality and image quality of the current crop of smartglasses, which is all well and good. However, given that companies can't even reduce smartglasses to the size of a normal pair of specs, we're not quite sure how the same job can be done via a smart contact lens.

It's not the first we've heard of smart contact lenses. Google has been playing with the concept for a couple of years as well, although their version is designed to detect glucose in the blood stream, rather than replace your Google Glass. Swiss startup Sensimed was recently given the green light to produce its Triggerfish smart contact lens that's designed to tackle glaucoma.

​Samsung patents AR contact lens with built in camera

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James Stables

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James is the co-founder of Wareable, and he has been a technology journalist for 15 years.

He started his career at Future Publishing, James became the features editor of T3 Magazine and T3.com and was a regular contributor to TechRadar – before leaving Future Publishing to found Wareable in 2014.

James has been at the helm of Wareable since 2014 and has become one of the leading experts in wearable technologies globally. He has reviewed, tested, and covered pretty much every wearable on the market, and is passionate about the evolving industry, and wearables helping people achieve healthier and happier lives.


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