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LAS VEGAS — Your future contact lenses could give you superhuman vision.



Just one year after eyewear startup Innovega announced a prototype of its high-tech iOptik lenses, the company is showing off the product at this year's International CES.



The Innovega eyewear system is made up of two parts: glasses and contact lenses. The contact lenses give you enhanced focusing abilities, so you can see near and far at levels beyond what the normal eye can see. For example, if you put a finger up to your eye while wearing the contacts, you can actually see the fine details of your fingerprint; whereas, the natural eye can't focus on an object so close up.



When you put on the accompanying glasses, which include flat-panels or micro-projectors that can display apps and media, they create a Google Glass-like experience. Putting on the contact lenses under the glasses will further enhance your vision.







So why didn't Innovega blend the contacts and glasses technology into one solution?



"A lot of companies are trying to do that right now with hardware, and there are limitations: It creates a tiny field of view," an iOptik spokesperson told Mashable. "Google Glass is the equivalent of having your smartphone about 24 inches in front of you. The iOptik system is six times the resolution and 20 times the area. It's like looking at a big TV projection, and you can see so much more."



Smart eyewear such as Google Glass would look more like goggles if the near- and far-vision technology were placed within the device, according to the spokesperson. By pairing the contacts with the iOptik glasses, it still looks like you're wearing regular glasses. You also have the option of filling the contact lenses with a prescription.



"We're hoping technology like this will eventually replace your smartphone," the spokesperson said.



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Pretty awesome tech. I wonder where we will be in 10-15 years with this stuff hitting the market now.

Tak82

hmm..not a bad idea..personally, i'm content with the sight the man upstairs gave me, as a diabetic with potential to lose that ability..i'm grateful.



still, 3 words..concept, cost, market.

187sks

All other things aside, a contact lens that let me focus on closer items would be pretty useful. I'm still waiting for a brain implanted FLIR camera bionic 3rd eye. And echolocation.