Site for Sore Eyes - Night Vision Contacts

Many spy, sci-fi and military action thrillers tend to put awesome (and sometimes unrealistic) ideas in our minds about high-tech gadgets that our favorite characters use in the field. These can be glasses with computers built into the lenses, or pens that contain tranquilizer darts, or even gloves that can cling onto any surface and allow you to climb any place at all, like…oh, let’s say the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Much of the time, we sit and wonder what it would be like to actually own one of these gadgets (conveniently forgetting how much the price would cost if they were real or how much CGI actually went into making them appear realistic). The good thing about the rapid technological growth that fuels our world today is that the reality of actually owning one of these super cool devices is getting closer each day. 

Scientists at the University of Michigan have developed the first prototype for night vision contact lenses. Rather than turn the darkness into shades of green and white like traditional night vision goggles, the contact lenses contain a thin strip of graphene between their glass layers. Graphene is a form of carbon that reacts to photons, which make dark images look brighter.

The graphene in the current prototype only absorbs about 2.3% of the light, so it will not be until those percentages rise that true night vision will be achieved. Reports have mentioned that the U.S. Army has shown great interest in this new technology. Of course, there is still a tremendous amount of research and development that must be done before soldiers can scrap their old heavy night vision goggles for the replacement lenses – but with the backing of the U.S government, full functioning versions of these lenses might not be that far off.

According to Michigan College of Engineering’s Ted Norris and Zhaohui Zhong, the creators of the lenses, the graphene layering technology can be used for more than just contacts. Developers said that graphene could be incorporated into windshields to amplify night vision while driving.

This new nanotechnology is an engineering breakthrough that is unlike any previous attempt to create a similar result. According to Zhong, graphene requires “a hundred to a thousand times lower [light] than what a commercial device would require.” Rather than testing its sensitivity to light, scientists decided to measure the electrical current running along the graphene layer. They found that as the electrical current hit the top layer of graphene, it will leave an impacting flow of electricity on the layers below it. This flow produces the electrical signal that displays the night vision image.

It’s truly incredible how far technology has evolved from where it was – even just 10 short years ago. If you wear eyeglasses or need to get your eyes checked, and hope to one day try a pair of these night vision contacts, why not visit a Site for Sore Eyes store near you to get fitted with your first pair of regular contact lenses? The vision care specialists at Site for Sore Eyes can answer any questions you may have about your eyes and how to improve and protect your vision (even in the dark!).