יום שבת, 3 בדצמבר 2016

Contact lenses that will change our lives

from Innovega-inc.com
In 2009, when I tested my first big Augmented Reality project on real users (ARIE), they said it was too heavy (and that was only a relatively light-weight glass-wear). We thought then, that only something as light as a contact lenses would be accepted by real users for long term use.
Augmented Reality Instructions Editor, Gady Yosef & Shachar Oz, 2010

Well, even though the technology isn't available yet, we are getting closer and closer.

Innovega has been working on the design for such a device in the past few years. This prototype was shown at CES 2014: contact lenses with a screen inside it.
By Innovega, 2014 (video)


Both Goggle & Sony are very active in that field, and are writing patents in the past few years, especially since the Google Glass experiment failed. I am certain that other giants are working on such technology, and my uneducated assumption is that in a decade from now  we would see  a live demo of such a prototype.


Devices as this will extremely revolutionize the way we live and communicate. When designed right, Augmented Reality is a technology that could be used by non-techy users. As an  example, it could offer automatic real-time translation of texts (Word Lens was acquired by Goggle and joined Translate app). Another use case is a virtual fitting room for new cloths before actually wearing them. A few days ago, Metanoia Interactive showed an option to design your future home in VR. This use case is also being developed in AR as well, by others.


But, we should first worry for our safety, as these devices are also very invasive.
Black Mirror chapter The Entire History of You, as well as the short movie Sight from Bezalel design students, and also Hyper Reality (by Keiichi Matsuda)  -  all showed some misuse of such devices.
Sight, short video, 2012

Hyper Reality, short video, 2016

As a society, we should embrace change and innovation, but be ware of possible consequences and outcomes of new technologies.

I recommend to form a committee that will approve such devices, technologies and developments. A group of scientists, sociologists, educators, judges, doctors. A group that would only care for our future as a society and not as a hungry startup or poisoned government.
Most important- this group should be formed quickly, for technology will come upon us.

I believe in technology and I believe in change. But we must also make sure radical and revolutionizing techs will not destroy our society.