Smart contact lenses

While the human eye is one of the most complex organs in the human body, it can apparently be upgraded – even given superpowers – through the humble contact lens.

In April, word surfaced that the French engineering school IMT Atlantique had devised the first stand-alone contact lens hosting a flexible micro battery. In a flash, the futuristic gadget caught the US military’s eye with the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) reportedly pondering deploying the lens to sharpen troops’ eyesight in the field.

The smart device could be the augmented contact lens that DARPA has sought for a decade, says the military content hub Task and Purpose. Its report draws comparisons with the one the American actor Jeremy Renner enlists in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol to scan a batch of nuclear codes. Meanwhile projected real-world uses range from ‘driving assistance’ to aiding operating room surgeons.