In 1887, the first contact lens, which was made of glass, was invented by a Swiss physician. Then, in 1938 the plastic contact lens was developed, followed by the first lens to cover only the cornea in 1950. Since the invention, people who have a far-sighted vision and near-sighted vision need two separate contact lenses, until now. Researchers have developed a contact lens that zooms in and out at your command. Eye movements control the lens, so if the user wants to zoom in, they just have to blink twice.
Most soft robots need to be controlled manually or pre-programmed. Scientists from UCSD have developed a lens that mimics the natural electric signals in the human eyeball.
The team harnessed the natural electric charge in the eye to control the device. This electric charge is even active when the eye itself is closed.
How did the scientists make this lens?
They measured the electro-oculographic signal, which is the electrical potential of the eye, and then made soft biomimetic lenses which respond to that activity. The lens is controlled using five electrodes surrounding the eye, which act like muscles and can change its focal distance depending on the signals produced.
Shengqiang Cai, the lead researcher, said:
Even if your eye cannot see anything, many people can still move their eyeball and generate this electro-oculographic signal.
The lens is made from polymers which expand when an electric current is applied. The scientists explain their research in the paper, “A Biomimetic Soft Lens Controlled by Electrooculographic Signal.”
The team wrote:
The four moving directions of the eyes could control the planar movements of the tunable lens, and the double blink of the eyes could trigger the focal length change of the lens.
The scientists believe this innovation could be used in the future for developing prosthetic eyes, a camera that the eyes alone can control, and remotely operated robotics.
