Augmented Reality in a Contact Lens is the title of the article that deals with the investigations that are being carried regarding this possible new invention. The article explains how this idea of building electronic circuits small enough to be integrated into contact lenses is currently under research. Plenty of new achievements that are being attained in the nanotechnology field make scientists and engineers think of the “electronic contacts” as a possible device that will revolutionize the world of information and our future lives.
Assuming that goals are attainable, one must ask himself if this new device would meet real needs in our lives. This is arguable. I don’t think it would be correct to say that this is something we need. It is something that could serve us and perhaps make our lives easier, but I don’t think it is something that we need. However, it does meet real needs in the sense that it sounds exactly like the kind of device that one depends on, once he gets used to it.
In my opinion, this is a clear example of a possible invention that cuts both ways. On one hand, the idea sounds good and developing such a device could be very useful. It could help as a means for better connectivity to the world through virtual reality. The possible applications are innumerable; the only limit is our imagination. It could detect and interpret information about our environment. It could offer “conversation-mode” information capture: subtitles of what a person talking to us is saying, including translation subtitles to be able to communicate with anyone and anywhere; and all kinds of information about the person in front (information downloaded from databases as well as some kind of real-time sensorial information system). The idea of a way of advertising directed to the eye and adapted to each person could call the attention of advertising executives and probably give rise to a new advertising and information (internet in front of the eyes) era.
Another clear advantage, and one of the most positive things that could come with this device, would be the benefits for better health care. Doctor’s could receive information, for instance, about the patient’s levels of cholesterol, sodium, and potassium, and the user himself could monitor these levels as well as other measurements such as the level of glucose, in the case of diabetic persons. All of this, with no need to carry out slow, and sometimes difficult, tests. In this sense, it would speed up, and therefore make more efficient, the intervention of doctors, making, at the same time, life easier to patients.
On the other hand, one could argue that it has important disadvantages. It could be harmful for people. It could be a device uncomfortable to wear. Some people could find this idea of virtual reality as a way of distorting reality. Others would see problems arising from privacy issues. I personally think that it could have a negative impact in our lives, if we let something like this make us less human and more machined-driven. The questions that arise are many. Could we be able to control the system? How and up to what point? Could it result in a useful tool for our relationships with others or would it make people more introverted? Would it show people, especially children, a wrong picture of reality? Scientists and engineers involved in this project have the last word and are responsible of making sure this invention benefits us, the future users of the device.
Here's a link to the article
http://spectrum.ieee.org/biomedical/bionics/augmented-reality-in-a-contact-lens/0
