Kiinalaiset tutkijat ovat onnistuneet kehittämään maailman ensimmäisen piilolinssin, jonka avulla ihminen voi nähdä pimeässä – ainakin tietyissä olosuhteissa. Innovaatio perustuu infrapunavaloon ja sen muuntamiseen näkyväksi valoksi silmälle.

Tutkimuksen takana on Kiinan tiede- ja teknologiayliopiston (University of Science and Technology of China, USTC) tiimi, jota johtivat professorit Xue Tian ja Ma Yuqian. Tulokset julkaistiin arvostetussa Cell-tiedejulkaisussa ja ovat herättäneet laajaa kansainvälistä kiinnostusta.

Ihmisen silmä näkee normaalisti vain näkyvän valon alueella, jonka aallonpituudet ovat noin 380-740 nanometriä. Tämän alueen ulkopuolelle jäävä infrapunavalo – jota on runsaasti esimerkiksi auringonlaskun jälkeen tai infrapunavalaistuissa tiloissa – on silmälle täysin näkymätöntä.

Uudet piilolinssit, joita kutsutaan upconversion- eli ylösmuuntaviksi linsseiksi sisältävät nanomateriaaleja, jotka muuntavat infrapunavalon näkyväksi. Näin käyttäjä voi havaita ympäristössä olevia yksityiskohtia, joita paljaalla silmällä ei voi nähdä.

Vaikka otsikon lupaus “näkemisestä pimeässä” pitää paikkansa tietyin ehdoin, kyse ei ole siitä, että linssit loisivat näkyvyyttä täydellisessä pimeydessä.

Smart contact lens startup pivoting, laying off 75% of staff
https://www.axios.com/2023/01/06/smart-contact-lens-startup-mojo-vision-layoffs

Mojo Vision, a startup that had embarked on a years-long effort to create a smart contact lens with a built-in display, is pivoting from that focus and laying off three-quarters of its staff.

Why it matters: A number of the most ambitious efforts in tech, especially around augmented and virtual reality, face challenges amid a slowing economy and a more difficult fundraising environment.

Details: The company said in a blog post on Friday that it is shifting its near-term work to focus on the micro-LED display technology it developed for use in the smart contact.

Between the lines: The company demonstrated a working prototype last year, but commercialization was still years off.

“Even as we made important product development progress, Mojo has faced significant challenges in raising capital,” CEO Drew Perkins said in a blog post.
“The slumping global economy, extremely tight capital markets, and the yet-to-be proven market potential for advanced AR products have all contributed to a situation where Mojo Vision has been unable to find additional private funding to continue its development of Mojo Lens.”
A New Direction for Mojo Vision’s Groundbreaking TechnologyAuthor: Mojo Vision CEO Drew Perkins
https://www.mojo.vision/news/a-new-direction

University of South Australia associate professor Drew Evans has created proof-of-concept work that could in the future lead to computerised contact lenses.

The conducting polymer lens is an early step into what could lead to circuitry being etched into contact lenses.

The work is combination of the University’s Future Industries Institute work into the PEDOT polymer and lenses developed by a UK contact lens firm understood to be Contamac.

“We have been researching in this area for the last decade in the military and automotive industries, but this is the first time we have been able to bring our polymer into contact lens technology,” Evans told Vulture South.

“It is a milestone simply because the polymer is biocompatible, meaning the body finds it friendly.

“There have been companies over the last decade building circuitry into lenses but that is using materials like copper – you’d be taking a big risk to stick that in your eye.”

The PEDOT polymer was first discovered in the late 1970s by three scientists who later won the Nobel Prize in 2000. Evans’ work improves on the polymer improving its properties for use in wearable devices.

The US Patent and Trademark Office has published a pile of Google patent applications describing a contact lens with embedded microchips that operate a microcamera, chemical sensors that detect changes in the makeup of tears, interfaces that would allow the contacts to connect with Android devices or smart cars, and command protocol that would let users tell the contacts what to do using a pattern of blinks.

What about Google Glass for those who don’t like contacts? A few glasses with Glass attached were lurking on the show floor.