Google Glass caused a lot of buzz when it was originally announced, and continues to do so on a regular basis when reports of users being beaten up or doing silly things with it come in. The wearable device, which is basically an Android smartphone packed into a glasses-like piece of eyewear, not only lets you percieve (and record) the world in a totally new way, it also makes you look a bit like a cyborg. But that might just be about to change.
Even though Google Glass has just been made available to the public today, at a retail price of $1,500, it seems Google is already working on the next generation of augmented reality computing devices. Just like regular glasses were at some point replaced by contact lenses, Google Glass could soon be replaced by Google Contacts. Yup, that’s right. The company that so many of us have already sold our souls to has recently filed a patent for a teeny tiny camera that can be fitted into a contact lens.
Google has previously announced that it’s working on smart contact lenses that can, for example, measure blood glucose levels, so these contact lens cameras might be an addition to these health measuring contacts. They could also prove useful for the visually impaired, for example by tracking their surrounding and warning them of obstancles ahead. As to whether it’ll be possible to take actual photos and videos with these, we honestly have no idea.
But the patent makes us wonder whether it might also be possible to integrate a tiny projector into a contact lens that would display a live image directly onto your retina in much the same way that Google Glass provides your sight with an information overlay. This is just daydreaming, though, and as of yet there’s no guarantee that even the contact lens cameras will make it into an actual project. But the idea is definitely worth geeking out over.
Via TechCrunch
