Smart Contact Lenses – AR Navigation

With the arrival of the Metaverse era, there has been an increase in expectations that virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies will improve everyday convenience and industry productivity performance. A joint research team has introduced core technology for smart contact lenses to implement AR-based navigation through 3D printing. According to the research team, the new smart contact lenses can be worn inside a person’s eye like any other.

The collaborative research team investigated alternatives to electroplating. They developed a simple and effective printing strategy to produce micro-patterns of PB using meniscus-guided printing of an acidic-ferric-ferricyanide ink composed of FeCl3, K3Fe(CN)6, and HCl. The key to this is the meniscus of the acidic-ferric-ferricyanide ink.

When voltage is applied, the substrate used, as with traditional electroplating, must be a conductor. On the other hand, the meniscus phenomenon has no restrictions on the substrate that can be used because crystallization occurs through the natural evaporation of the solvent. The micro-pattern technology (7.2 micrometers) can be applied to smart contact lens displays for augmented reality, and the color is continuous and uniform.

The application of smart contact lenses is most anticipated in fields such as navigation. In experiments, researchers successfully demonstrated Prussian blue (PB)-based electrochromic (EC) displays with a navigation function in a smart contact lens.

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