My love-hate relationship with Google continues. On the one hand Google collects as much personal information about its customers as it can in order to sell it to advertisers. On the other hand Google develops some really interesting technology. Its latest endeavor are smart contact lenses:
SAN FRANCISCO — Google’s vision for wearable technology took another ambitious leap forward Thursday when the world’s largest Internet search company announced it is developing a smart contact lens.
The lens measures glucose in tears using a wireless chip and miniaturized glucose sensor. While at a very early stage, Google hopes the technology could help people manage diabetes better.
I have little interest in a lens that can measure glucose levels but I have a lot of interest in where this technology may lead. Someday this technology will likely lead to a contact lens version of Google Glass, that is to say a heads up display. Having a heads up display on contact lenses would offer a means of displaying information over your vision without requiring the use of goofy looking devices on your face. Furthermore it would allow you to conceal the fact that you have a heads up display over your vision, which may come in handy during boring business meetings.
I look forward to our technological future and all of the advantages it will bring and solving the disadvantages it will bring.
The worst part about this is that a couple of weeks ago I was brainstorming with a former professor on a way to monitor glucose without a blood test. Our involved using IR light to scan the blood in the capillaries. Not something as elegant as a contact lens.
Upon further research it appears they are using resistance to measure glucose which while accurate under controlled circumstances has many variables that can throw off readings such as sodium levels and acidity of the tears.
Yes. I’m sure this technology has a long ways to go before it’s ready for mainstream but it’s off to a promising start. I do like the idea of measuring glucose with infrared light as well. Honestly, the most methods available to allow such testing without requiring blood the better (speaking as somebody who is not a fan of needles).