Scientist Lee Seok Woo drew inspiration from a scene in a “Mission Impossible” movie, where an agent uses smart contact lenses with facial recognition and eye tracking capabilities. This inspired Lee to delve into creating batteries for smart contact lenses in real life. The Nanyang Technological University’s School of Electrical and Electronical Engineering associate professor was intrigued by the idea of developing wearable technology in the form of smart contact lenses.
Lee’s expertise in battery components led him to explore the creation of safe and compact batteries for smart contact lenses. Given the thinness of contact lenses at 0.5 mm, the batteries needed to be equally thin and flexible to prevent user discomfort. Consequently, Lee and his team developed a battery that could be powered by a biocompatible saline solution rather than traditional lithium-ion batteries containing flammable materials.
Charging Mechanisms
The innovative battery can be charged using a conventional wire method or a chemical method. By coating the battery with glucose, it can react with sodium and chloride ions in the saline solution to charge the battery. This chemical charging process takes around eight hours to reach 80% capacity, after which the battery can be used for a few hours. Additionally, tears can also charge the battery as they contain glucose, providing a unique way of powering the smart contact lenses.
Currently, the battery’s capacity and voltage remain low, producing approximately 0.3V – 0.6V compared to the standard 1.5V of an AA battery. This limitation hinders the use of the battery for functions like data storage or internet connection. However, Lee is optimistic about future developments in enhancing the battery’s specifications to meet these requirements. One potential area of application Lee envisions is in the healthcare sector, where the smart contact lenses could be used to detect glucose levels in diabetic patients, presenting a promising innovation for the future.
Despite the innovative potential of smart contact lenses with built-in batteries, Lee emphasizes the importance of keeping costs low. Given the current capacity limitations of the batteries, Lee believes that cost-effective solutions are essential to ensure widespread adoption and accessibility of this technology.
The development of batteries for smart contact lenses represents a significant technological advancement in the field of wearable technology. Lee Seok Woo’s innovative approach to creating thin, flexible, and biocompatible batteries opens up a world of possibilities for the future of smart contact lenses. While there are challenges to overcome, such as improving battery capacity and voltage, the potential applications of this technology in healthcare and beyond are promising. As researchers continue to refine and enhance this technology, smart contact lenses with advanced battery capabilities may soon become a reality, revolutionizing how we interact with wearable devices.
Leave a Reply