Navy developing magnetic contact lenses

It looks like the Navy's Office of Naval Research dipping its toes into the oft-explored business of eye-tracking, with a recent patent application revealing plans for some magnetic contact lenses designed to aid fighter pilots and others in need of a hands-free control option. According to NewScientist, the system consists of a magnetic sensor that's attached to side of an individual's head, which picks up changes in the magnetic field caused by the wearer's contact lenses -- those then get sorted out to determine exactly how the person's eyes are moving. As NewScientist points out, one of the big advantages of this system (as opposed to other methods of eye-tracking) is that it can work regardless of the person's head orientation, lighting conditions, or anything blocking the person's eyes, such as goggles or glasses, hence its appeal for fighter pilots. Lets just hope things don't go too haywire when one of the contacts falls out.

[strider_mt2k @ Jul 9th 2007 12:56PM]

It's always the magnets with these people, isn't it?

[Boynamedsue @ Jul 9th 2007 1:01PM]

since the system will require people with 20/20 vision to wear the lenses for proper operation of the craft, will that open the door for people who have to wear contact lenses anyways?

also, what do extreme G forces do to lenses that basically sit on your eye? I wouldn't want to have to dig a contact lens out from behind my eye all the time.

[Juaquin @ Jul 9th 2007 1:11PM]

Probably not. The problem with contact lenses isn't really that they might fall out - it's that when they do, you can't see. If a magnetic one falls out, you'll just have to use your hands to control things. If a real prescription one falls out, you have a serious problem.

[Frankenstein Black @ Jul 9th 2007 1:09PM]

So Magneto will now have the ability to crush eyeballs too, Oh Great!

[Passarinhuu @ Jul 9th 2007 1:30PM]

Not sure what type of lense they are talking about, but regular lenses don't always follow the eye movements, usually when people look to the sides. I don't think they will be able to get a precise positioning using those...

[Julian @ Jul 9th 2007 1:37PM]

Passarinhuu, contact lenses have been used for some of the most accurate and reliable eye-tracking done to date.

See: D. A. Robinson, A method of measuring eye movement using a scleral search coil in a magnetic field (the paper is about 40 years old)

[Brad Haddix @ Jul 9th 2007 4:27PM]

That is just funny. What's next, cars that sense where your eyes are looking and veers it that way? (hey, look at that interesting restaurant we visited...)

[PynkFloydd @ Jul 9th 2007 5:37PM]

"Lets just hope things don't go too haywire when one of the contacts falls out."

I was in the 82nd Airborne in an infantry unit (1/325 AIR). I wore contacts on most of my jumps and only had a problem once. I was hit by prop wash (imagine standing in a hurricane wind strength fan) and one contact slipped to the side. All was well after I situated it after a few moments. I actually had less problems with contacts than any other vision assist (i.e. night vision, thermal scope, glasses, etc.).

[Derrick @ Jul 9th 2007 6:07PM]

FYI - About the only way to have a contact "fall" out of your eye is if you make it come out by itching your eye very strongly. G forces would have little effect due to the very low mass of a contact lens.

[a @ Jul 23rd 2007 1:35AM]

I've had my RGP's fall out in the middle of lecture

[jono @ Jul 10th 2007 12:14PM]

have you ever worn contacts?

I've had 1 fall out whilst playing football (soccer) and 1 just randomly before. I only wore them for 3 months. Gave up

[Rubnoopi @ Jul 9th 2007 6:58PM]

Navy: Accelerate Your Eyeballs

[JuiceIsLoose @ Jul 10th 2007 11:41AM]

I wonder how they will convince NAMI (Naval Aerospace Medicine Institute) that pilots can safely wear contacts. Currently, they don't allow them at all, which is why they issue you the ugliest glasses on earth to fly with.

[Derrick @ Jul 10th 2007 12:37PM]

jono:

I've worn contacts for 13 years now and I've had few problems. I recently got new ones for my astigmatism and they are great.

[Kumar @ Jul 10th 2007 3:29PM]

Being the Navy, with those bassa$$ seals, a good application would also be to use it to correct for underwater vision. They could flip a switch and adjust for the defraction caused by the water and their mask, if that's possible. I know there's a funky mask out now that's supposed to do the trick, but this would be way cooler.