Scientist Lee Seok Woo mentioned a scene from a “Mission Unimaginable” film impressed his newest invention: batteries for sensible contact lenses.
Within the fourth movie of the collection, an agent wears contact lenses able to facial recognition and eye monitoring. Lee needed to make that lens a actuality.
“I used to be pondering, ‘How can I work on this discipline of sensible contact lenses?'” the Nanyang Technological College’s College of Electrical and Electronical Engineering affiliate professor informed CNBC’s “The Edge.”
Lee’s experience in battery elements served because the leaping off level for his foray into wearable expertise. He realized sensible contact lenses would want protected and compact batteries, which might be essential for advancing improvement of those units.
Contact lenses themselves are extraordinarily skinny, at 0.5 mm, thus the dimensions and adaptability of those batteries are key to stopping consumer discomfort.
“The thickness of our battery is about 0.2 mm, which is about twice the thickness of a human hair,” Lee mentioned.
An illustration of how a wise contact lens would match on a human eye mannequin.
Lauren Choo | CNBC
Lee and his staff invented a battery that may be powered utilizing a biocompatible saline answer as an alternative choice to lithium-ion batteries, which include flammable supplies.
This new battery will be charged utilizing a standard wire methodology, or a chemical methodology. The battery is coated with glucose and, when dipped into saline answer, the glucose will react with the sodium and chloride ions to cost it.
Scientists at Singapore’s NTU show how the battery on a wise contact lens will be charged utilizing the traditional wire methodology.
Lauren Choo | CNBC
After eight hours of chemical charging, the battery can attain 80% of its full capability. Then, it may be used for a few hours through the day.
Nonetheless, there’s one other uncommon technique to energy the battery.
“Tear answer additionally incorporates glucose. Meaning, whilst you’re carrying the contact lens, your tears may cost the battery,” Lee mentioned.
“In case you cry extra, then you’ll be able to cost your battery extra.”
A scientist showcase a wise contact lens fitted with a working prototype of a micro-battery.
Lauren Choo | CNBC
At the moment, the capability and voltage of the battery continues to be very low. Utilizing the 2 strategies, the battery can solely produce a voltage of roughly 0.3V – 0.6V. The usual voltage for one AA battery is 1.5V.
At this stage, that output is inadequate for powering knowledge storage or web connection, however the staff is working to develop the battery’s specs.
A possible companion Lee has recognized is in well being care.
“We use glucose as a biofuel. There are lots of diabetic sufferers who examine their glucose degree day-after-day,” Lee mentioned.
“We studied how we will detect glucose degree whereas the consumer is carrying the contact lens.”
Regardless of the potential prospects of such an innovation, Lee thinks that prices ought to be saved low, contemplating the capability of the batteries.
“As soon as it goes into very severe commercialization, the price of the battery ought to solely be a number of {dollars}.”
