So…how does the thought of computerized contact lenses strike you?

You’re a tougher soul than I am if that didn’t make you blink, but if engineer Babak Parviz has his way, we’ll all be wearing them soon enough, mostly because we’ll WANT to wear them.

Parviz’s incredible contact lenses will provide what’s known as augmented reality, in which “guides” will appear in front of you to tell you where to find things.  Think of it as having Google Maps with you whereever you go, even when you left your Blackberry at home.  It might tell you where you are, where you are in relation to where you want to be, where you SHOULD want to be, and so on from there.

Naturally, a computer that does all this will need a power supply, and they’re working on that too–specifically, solar power or RF power harvesting–though the first time someone suggests bio-electricity, I’m running for the hills.  The thought that my brain energy could power a computer floating on my pupil actually scares me green, and me a sci-fi buff.

Read