Samsung registers smart contact lenses with integrated camera

It is increasingly difficult to define the boundaries between science fiction and device developers' creativity. THE Samsung took another step towards a future with the air of cinema and received from the South Korean government the license to develop smart contact lenses, with an integrated photo camera, which projects images directly into the user's eye.

The lenses would work similarly to the Google Glass, with the advantage of being much more discreet. In addition to being just a screen to display relevant information, the patent also reveals that the project includes a camera and motion sensors that — like the other commands — can be activated by user blinks.

The project shows that smart contact lenses have a small display, One antenna, One photographic camera and several sensors that capture the blinks and movements of the eyeball. They will need to communicate with a external device, like a smartphone, to process the content produced by the lens and displayed to the wearer.

According  to SamMobile, a site specialized in brand news, the idea of Samsung is to create contact lenses to be alternatives more natural (physiological) to the augmented reality glasses. With contact lenses instead of glasses, users will be able to enjoy the contents of AR in a more discreet way.

With this development, the Samsung joins the Google in the field of companies interested in producing smart contact lenses. At the beginning of 2014, the mountain view giant announced that was playing a smart contact lens design. That same year, the project resulted in an agreement with the pharmaceutical Novartis to license lenses"smart” that would help diabetics measure their blood glucose level or restore the eyes' ability to focus on an object.

It has not yet been announced whether the Samsung intends to incorporate the technology in some of its products. If indeed confirmed, smart contact lenses will provoke an immense controversy. Equipping devices as small as contact lenses with cameras is a serious threat to privacy of people. If the project still has a long way to go, the end consumer seems exactly ready to receive such a product.