Sony applies for patent on contact lens camera that shoots photos in a blink
A recent patent filed by Sony aims to allow people to shoot photos with the blink of an eye.
The company's patent application is for a "contact lens camera" that would allow the wearer to snap photos with a deliberate blink of the eye and store them on a wireless device like a smartphone or tablet.
The contact lens camera would also have enhanced features like zoom and image stabilization, with the ability to differentiate between regular blinking and deliberate blinking for capturing images.
Sony is one of several companies in a race to make the smart contact lenses a reality. Google, whose Google Glass was a first step toward eyewear that can shoot photos and video, applied for a patent for a contact lens camera in 2014.
Compared to the Google patent, the Sony application lists more features like zoom, focus, change of aperture and stability to prevent blurry photos.
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The images also can be stored in the lens itself before being transmitted wirelessly to another device.
While the patent provides a glimpse of the future, the technology to fit all of those functions into a tiny contact lens does not presently exist, so it's currently more of a prototype than reality.
—By Scott Stump, TODAY.com/money.
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