Eyeing up a new technology

摘要

Conventional contact lenses are good at correcting vision. That, however, is not enough for Babak Parviz. Dr Parviz, who works at the University of Washington, in Seattle, wants to get them to provide information, too. His model is the "head-up" displays of useful information on the windscreens of aircraft. Putting such displays into lenses might be valuable for both soldiers and civilians, but shrinking the technology to the point where it could be done has proved hard. Last week, however, at a conference in Tucson, Arizona, organised by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Dr Parviz revealed that he was getting close.