Earlier this year, Google announced that it was developing contact lenses that would be able to detect a person's glucose levels. Now, according to the Telegraph, they've gone one step further and filed a patin for contact lenses with imbedded microscopic cameras. The camera would allow the user to take a picture of whatever was in their direct line of sight, and they would be able to control the camera through blinking patterns. The sensors in the cameras could be able to detect light, color, objects, and even faces. This technology could be an amazing asset to a blind user by pairing the contact lenses with a mobile app for object recognition and even warning the user about upcoming obstacles or mobility hazards.
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It could also have severe privacy implications however. You'd never know if someone was taking a picture of you or not, even if you're sighted. Also, consider that we don't want to get too reliant on things like this. Sure they could be an amazing help, but as with using a dog, if for some reason it isn't able to work that day you might end up in a fix. I worry that we'll let our traditional skills go in favor of technology that is far more fragile.
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For the past three years Alena has been a feature writer for the online magazine Matilda Ziegler. She has also been a contractor for the Oregon Commission for the Blind, helping blind adults learn to use adaptive technology. She is studying to be a teacher of the visually impaired at Portland State. You might also recognize her from the Serotalk podcast Triple Click Home.
