Scientists Have Built Contact Lenses That Let You Zoom On Far Objects Just By Blinking

You've probably seen a bunch of spy movies where the protagonist can zoom into the villain's base far away using their sunglasses or something similar.

Of course you loved the idea, it's awesome. And now, you might be able to do it yourself.

Wikimedia Commons

Scientists at the University of California San Diego have developed a new type of contact lens that is controlled by eye movements. Basically, you can make the lenses zoom in or out just by blinking twice.

The findings were detailed in a paper published in this month's Advanced Functional Materials. The prototype is described as a biomimetic lens made of stretchy polymer films. These respond to the electric signals generated when you make eye movements like blinking, called electrooculographic signals.

"Even if your eye cannot see anything, many people can still move their eyeball and generate this electro-oculographic signal," lead researcher Shengqiang Cai to New Scientist.

University of California San Diego

These contact lenses could actually be incredibly handy for people with multiple prescriptions, as it could let them zoom into faraway objects as well as zoom out to read something near at hand. On the other hand, this sort of device could also far too easily be used to spy on people from a distance with ease, and without raising any suspicions.

Either way though, the prototype is still in its infancy, and currently only functions in a special rig with electrodes placed around the wearer's eyes. Once it can be miniaturised though, watch out!