With the continuous advancements in technology and the Smart Contact Lens already on the radar of the big players, Lenstore partnered with a futurist to conceptualise the ‘iLens’.

Lenstore has worked with Richard Watson, a futurologist and author to bring to life what the future of smart contact lenses may look like - introducing the iLens. 

One of the iLens’s features is its ability to reduce screen time, a growing concern as average computer usage has increased by 44 minutes during lockdown, while an extra half hour is spent on phones and TVs respectively.

Given the current climate, working from home has been more common than ever, and many companies are happy for it to remain in the future. But working from home also leaves people more susceptible to fewer breaks from a screen.

The iLens will give real-time reminders to let you know when you’ve been staring at a screen for too long and to take a break. It will go as far as blocking out a screen if you continue to look.

Roshni Patel, BSc (Hons) MCOptom, professional services manager at Lenstore, believes that this can help improve eye health during lockdown.

“Many of us are working remotely and staying at home under the current COVID-19 restrictions. Our average daily screen time is inevitably going to rise because of this, and it is more important than ever to take care of our eye health.

“Our concept for a smart contact lens, iLens, has been created to help us protect our eyes by offering regular alerts to take a break from our screens. Following the 20-20-20 rule, it can remind us to look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds every 20 minutes, a helpful trick to reduce eye strain and prevent any long-term problems with our eyes.”

When asked what the future of the smart contact lens may look like, Watson said: “In the far future, small screens may disappear. Instead, we will project information onto smart contacts or use lenses to project holograms of things like working laptops or phones into augmented reality. So, no more laptops, desktops, phones, TVs, or tablets. 

“In the future, reality will be a complex and confusing idea. Smart contacts will enable people to access highly immersive virtual experiences in what feels like ‘real-life’. Smart Contacts will also allow individuals to ‘see’ reality in totally different (personalised) ways, bringing into question what reality really is.”

Here are some of the other key features that Watson believes iLens offers:

Rewatch your memories 

Reminiscent of a black mirror episode, the iLens will record your memories in a blink of an eye, so you can watch them again and again. Lenstore adds that this will work via Bluetooth connectivity, so once you’ve stopped recording your memories, they will instantly save to your phone, allowing you to re-watch as often as you want. 

Air quality measurement 

The environment has shifted to the forefront of people’s minds. The iLens will include a feature that encourages an environmentally friendly future, as it will monitor and record air quality, providing the user with alerts. There will be an additional feature of measuring elements such as the pollen count - giving users a warning of when to take a hayfever tablet. 

Lenstore surveyed contact lens wearers to determine what the everyday person would want to see from a smart contact lens. This includes: 

• Social distancing monitoring - based on the current climate 
• Optical zooming - enhanced eyesight with up to 60x digital zoom
• Fitness alerts - reminders to keep active and moving
• Ability to see in the dark - through adjusted lighting. 

Roshni Patel, BSc (Hons) MCOptom, professional services manager at Lenstore, said: “Smart contact lenses, despite currently only a consideration for the future, is such an exciting notion as it will offer increased efficiency to our daily lives – having a great impact on both work and personal related tasks. 

“The scope for this in the medical world, alongside evolving technologies will see less stress on hospital eye services and help reduce the impact of disease. For example, contact lenses that administer glaucoma medication via an app throughout the day will increase compliance, therefore seeing less people lose their sight due to this progressive condition. 

“Whilst the future of smart contact lenses is an exciting one, it’s important that these technologies go through years of R&D and numerous trials before being launched, to establish consumer safety and compatibility.”