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LCD display the size of a contact lens, anyone?

A breakthrough in LCD technology will pave the way for LCD displays you can wear on your eye

Clever scientists from the Centre of Microsystems Technology (CMST) of Ghent University have revealed a new curved LCD display that’s small enough to be embedded within a contact lens.

Unlike existing LED displays of a similar size, the display technology allows anything from one pixel to many to be displayed on the surface – making it possible to display images like a dollar sign, as seen in the video above.

The potential uses for the dinky curved LCD –  which works using conductive polymers – are numerous. It could be tinted, blocking light like a miniature pair of sunglasses – or changing the colour of your eye on a whim. It could even be used to create a miniature heads-up display, like the one seen on Google’s Project Glass – although the idea of being badgered by adverts right in front of our eyes sends a shiver down our spine.

Expect the first applications of the conductive polymer-based curved LCD display to arrive in a few years. Until then, marvel at the video above.

[via NanoTech]

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Profile image of Dan Grabham Dan Grabham Editor-in-Chief

About

Dan is Editor-in-chief of Stuff, working across the magazine and the Stuff.tv website.  Our Editor-in-Chief is a regular at tech shows such as CES in Las Vegas, IFA in Berlin and Mobile World Congress in Barcelona as well as at other launches and events. He has been a CES Innovation Awards judge. Dan is completely platform agnostic and very at home using and writing about Windows, macOS, Android and iOS/iPadOS plus lots and lots of gadgets including audio and smart home gear, laptops and smartphones. He's also been interviewed and quoted in a wide variety of places including The Sun, BBC World Service, BBC News Online, BBC Radio 5Live, BBC Radio 4, Sky News Radio and BBC Local Radio.

Areas of expertise

Computing, mobile, audio, smart home