Contact Lenses for Superhuman Vision

Engineers at the University of Washington are developing techniques to combine a flexible, biologically safe contact lens with an imprinted electronic circuit and lights. The lenses incorporate circuits made from layers of metal only a few nanometers thick and light-emitting diodes one third of a millimeter across. The possible uses for such technology range from drivers and pilots reading meters while watching out the window, to video games and internet usage.
"People may find all sorts of applications for it that we have not thought about. Our goal is to demonstrate the basic technology and make sure it works and that it's safe," said [Babak] Parviz, who heads a multi-disciplinary UW group that is developing electronics for contact lenses.

The lenses were tested on rabbits, who showed no adverse effect. Link -via J-Walk Blog

(image credit: University of Washington)

This is eerily familiar to anyone who has read Vernor Vinge's "Rainbow's End" novel. Couple these contacts with wearable computers and you can surf the net while sitting at the dinner table.
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A similar pair was also featured in Wired Magazine's "Artifacts from the future" a few months back. (except theirs wouldn't work because the readouts were printed on the outside of the contact, where we can't see.)
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I love how new bio-tech keeps coming out. implant limbs, cpu eyes, the mind-computer interface. I cant wait for this stuff to be utilized in stuff that I can get my hands on! :D
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Would be so useful for driving, especially in the dark, though I'd imagine it'd take some testing before they were legal for the roads. Sounds fantastic! Can't wait to get some myself. Imagine, contact lenses that let you see like the Terminator...
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