Optics specialist Eric Tremblay from EPFL in Switzerland unveils the latest prototype in the telescopic contact lens and debuts accessory wink-controlled glasses that switch between normal and 2.8x magnified vision.
An estimated 285 million people are visually impaired worldwide. Age-related macular degeneration alone is the leading cause of blindness among older adults in the Western world. But this week at the AAAS Annual Meeting in San Jose, California, Eric Tremblay from EPFL in Switzerland unveils a new prototype of his telescopic contact lens–the first of its kind–giving hope for better, stronger vision. The optics specialist also debuts complementary smart glasses that recognize winks and ignore blinks, allowing wearers of the contact lenses to switch between normal and magnified vision.
“We think these lenses hold a lot of promise for low vision and age-related macular degeneration (AMD),” says Tremblay, an EPFL researcher whose collaborators include Joe Ford at the University of California, San Diego, and others at Paragon Vision Sciences, Innovega, Pacific Sciences and Engineering, and Rockwell Collins. “It’s very important and hard to strike a balance between function and the social costs of wearing any kind of bulky visual device. There is a strong need for something more integrated, and a contact lens is an attractive direction. At this point this is still research, but we are hopeful it will eventually become a real option for people with AMD.”
Inside the lens
The first iteration of the telescopic contact lens–which magnifies 2.8 times–was announced in 2013. Since then the scientists behind the DARPA-funded project have been fine-tuning the lens membranes and developing accessories to make the eyewear smarter and more comfortable for longer periods of time, and thus more usable in every day life.
The contacts work by incorporating a very thin reflective telescope inside a 1.55mm thick lens. Small mirrors within bounce light around, expanding the perceived size of objects and magnifying the view, so it’s like looking through low magnification binoculars.
Read more: See here now: Telescopic contact lenses and wink-control glasses
The Latest on: Telescopic contact lenses
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Telescopic contact lenses” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Telescopic contact lenses
- Epic Best Buy sale knocks up to $300 off Samsung’s entire Galaxy S24 lineupon May 2, 2024 at 12:32 pm
Samsung makes some of the best Android phones we've tested. With their excellent cameras, useful AI features, and great overall performance — the company's Galaxy S24 family is especially worth ...
- This Leica lens is 1600mm, worth over $2 MILLION, and only 3 were ever made!on May 2, 2024 at 8:04 am
If that wasn't impressive enough, only three units of the 1600mm lenses were ever produced. Remarkably, Leica possesses two of three of these rare lenses ever made, and before you ask, no, they are ...
- Here Are the 14 New Books You Should Read in Mayon May 1, 2024 at 6:47 am
F rom Brittney Griner’s eagerly anticipated memoir to a long-awaited sequel to Colm Tóibín’s beloved novel Brooklyn, the best books coming in May offer a range of choices fo ...
- Einstein Probe X-ray telescope releases 1st images taken with 'lobster vision'on April 30, 2024 at 2:03 pm
Flaring stars, black hole outbursts and gamma-rays are just some of the cosmic exotica that Einstein Probe will hunt for.
- Euclid Telescope: A Scientist Tells Us Of His Quest To Understand The Nature Of Dark Matter And Dark Energyon April 30, 2024 at 1:22 pm
Euclid, a unique European space telescope was launched from Cape Canaveral. The launch was undoubtedly the highlight of my career ...
- Astrophotographer captures the Running Chicken Nebula in impeccable detailon April 30, 2024 at 12:00 pm
This stunning view of the Running Chicken Nebula, IC 2944, took astrophotographer Rod Prazeres over 42 hours to capture, his longest project yet.
- Kase launches its first camera lens - a 200mm f/5.6 mirror telephoto!on April 28, 2024 at 10:45 pm
Mirror lenses are always telephoto or super-telephoto in focal length, but due to their construction, they are more compact than conventional telephoto lenses. The new Kase lens however has a very ...
- Apple's iPhone 16 camera already sounds sensationalon April 23, 2024 at 4:09 am
Meanwhile, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is rumoured to feature a "super" telephoto zoom, increasing the focal length from 77mm to 300mm. Increased zoom capabilities could be a huge boon for creatives, making ...
- Researchers solve mystery of inexplicably dense galaxy at the heart of perfect 'Einstein ring' snapped by James Webb telescopeon April 18, 2024 at 9:16 am
The James Webb Space Telescope discovered an inexplicably dense galaxy inside an "Einstein ring" last year. Now, researchers think they can explain this cosmic conundrum.
- OnePlus flip-style foldable could feature a telephoto lenson April 16, 2024 at 9:26 am
It's rare to see a flip phone with a telephoto lens, with the Oppo Find N3 Flip being the only phone on the market to offer one. If OnePlus offers that type of lens on a potential flip phone, it could ...
via Bing News