Why night vision contact lenses are on the horizon

A professor said that the thin design can be stacked on contact lens or integrated with a mobile phone.

16:55 02 April 2014

Researchers from the University of Michigan have created a tiny infrared light detector that can pave the way for night-vision contact lenses, which can work even at room temperature.

A professor from the university, Zhaihui Zhong said that the design is so thin that it can be stacked on a contact lens or integrated with a mobile phone. And unlike infrared detectors available in the market today, it does not need cooling equipment to work.

The researchers used graphene, which is a single layer of carbon atoms that can sense the whole infrared spectrum. However, it only absorbs about 2per cent of the light that hits it.

Prof Zhong said: "The challenge for the current generation of graphene-based detectors is that their sensitivity is typically very poor.

"It's a hundred to a thousand times lower than what a commercial device would require."

"If we integrate it with a contact lens or other wearable electronics, it expands your vision.

"It provides you another way of interacting with your environment."