Imec made an interesting announcement on December 5 that could make the much hyped Google Project Glass look obsolete. The nano-electronics researcher claimed that its lab in Ghent, Belgium has created a LCD display that is curved and has the ability to be imbedded in a very small area like a contact lens. The product could hypothetically allow the world to get rid of displays on phones or gaming consoles to make room for invisible augmented reality technology. It could also potentially stymie Google’s product because it is a far less obtrusive alternative than wearable tech that needs to be on the face at all times.
Imec has showcased the first protoype which has the ability to display fairly simple images. This should change over time as the technology improves and the company makes progress. Imec claims that it will soon be able to manage light transmission to the eyes retina to produced multi-colored irises. This will give the product the ability to start acting like a heads-up display and superimpose an image right onto the user’s field of vision and be used easily as an augmented reality tool for work or everyday life.
Imec’s technology is quite revolutionary and uses pretty much the entire surface of the contact lens as a display. This is a lot more advanced than the more common LED-based applications that can only show a few pixels and Imec claims that it is 3 to 10 years ahead of competitors. According to Imec, their technology can be used with a different number of pixel sizes and numbers.
The main researcher for the project, Jelle De Smet, states that, “Normally, flexible displays using liquid crystal cells are not designed to be formed into a new shape, especially not a spherical one. Thus, the main challenge was to create a very thin, spherically curved substrate with active layers that could withstand the extreme molding processes.”
The AR contact lens was developed at the Center for Microsystems Technology.
Source: Venture Beat
Green Throttle Games Raises $6 Million for Android Smartphone to TV Gaming
Meet Bow & Drape – The eCommerce Site That Marries The Art of Dressmaking With Modern Technology
Lunches So Good Kids Can’t Ignore Them
Invigorating Ginger Smoothie
The U.K.’s Youngest Parents Ever
The new hair Jennifer Lawrence