Bionic contact lenses are being developed to provide a virtual display that could have a variety of uses from assisting the visually impaired to the video game industry. The device will have the form of a conventional contact lens with added bionics technology in the form of augmented reality, with functional electronic circuits and infrared lights to create a virtual display. Babak Parviz, a University of Washington assistant professor of electrical engineering is quoted as saying "Looking through a completed lens, you would see what the display is generating superimposed on the world outside.”
There are certain technical requirements that engineers have to meet in order to develop safe bionic lenses. First, power must be provided to bionic lenses via wireless mediums. Second, bionic lenses have to be bio-compatible. These requirements challenge engineers by limiting their material choice and imposing a regulatory standard regarding radio-frequency radiation, so as not to harm the user. Third, micro-scale components should be mechanically and electrically integrated on a polymer substrate. And finally, all of these operations have to be completed within the volume of standard contact lenses, that being 1 cm² in area with a thickness of 200 μm or smaller.
A contact lens, or simply contact, is a thin lens placed directly on the surface of the eye. Contact lenses are considered medical devices and can be worn to correct vision, or for cosmetic or therapeutic reasons. In 2004, it was estimated that 125 million people (2%) use contact lenses worldwide, including 28 to 38 million in the United States. In 2010, worldwide contact lens market was estimated at $6.1 billion, while the U.S. soft lens market was estimated at $2.1 billion. Multiple scientists estimated that the global market would reach $11.7 billion by 2015.As of 2010, the average age of contact lens wearers globally was 31 years old, and two thirds of wearers were female.
People choose to wear contact lenses for many reasons. Aesthetics and cosmetics are often motivating factors for people who would like to avoid wearing glasses or would like to change the appearance of their eyes. Other people wear contacts for functional or optical reasons. When compared with spectacles, contact lenses typically provide better peripheral vision, and do not collect moisture such as rain, snow, condensation, or perspiration(extreme weather); this makes them ideal for sports and other outdoor activities. Contact lens wearers can also wear sunglasses, goggles, or other eyewear of their choice without having to fit them with prescription lenses or worry about compatibility with glasses. Additionally, there are conditions such as keratoconus and aniseikonia that are typically corrected better by contacts than by glasses.