Abstract: A small imager mounted on a user's eye (referred to as a femtoimager) is coordinated with an external camera. The femtoimager may be contained in a contact lens, and it may be aligned with the gaze a user's eye. The femtoimager and external camera capture images with overlapping views of the external environment. Images from the two imagers may be compared with one another to estimate the femtoimager's view of the external environment relative to the camera's view of the external environment. This may then be used for different applications.

Abstract: A contact lens having a cap, core, and base forming three layers to allow for the contact lens to be thick enough to accommodate a payload, while ensuring sufficient oxygenation of the wearer's eye. The cap and base are each a thin layer of gas-permeable material, each shaped to form an air gap between them and the core. The two air gaps are connected by air passages that traverse the core. Oxygen from an outside environment passes through the gas-permeable cap to reach the outer air gap, through the air passages to the inner air gap, and through the gas-permeable base to reach the cornea of the wearer's eye. The cap may be annular in form, having a center hole such that the cap does not extend over the central zone of the core, reducing a thickness of the contact lens.

Abstract: An eye-mounted device includes a contact lens that contains a femtoimager and corresponding femtoprojector. The femtoimager captures images of a user's surrounding environment. Images captured by the femtoimager are transmitted to the femtoprojector via a signal path containing digital image processing circuitry to perform one or more image processing functions on the captured images. The image processing circuitry comprises a plurality of filters connected in series and/or parallel that are configurable to implement different types of image processing, depending on the content of the images captured by the femtoimager. Compute approximation and simplification is utilized to reduce the power consumption within the lens. Components outside the contact lens determine the type of image processing, thus reducing power consumption within the contact lens. The femtoprojector then projects the resulting images to the user's retina.

Abstract: A process for creating wiring on a curved surface, such as the surface of a contact lens, includes the following. Creating a groove or trench in the curved surface. Forming a seed layer on the surface and on the groove. Removing the seed layer from the surface while leaving some or all of it in the groove. Depositing conductive material in the groove. Preferably, the deposited conductive material is thicker than the seed layer.

Abstract: An imaging device contained in a contact lens captures images of the external environment, which for convenience will be referred to as real-world images. These real-world images are used to stabilize images produced by a femtoprojector also in the contact lens. For convenience, the images produced by the femtoprojector will be referred to as augmented reality or AR images. The femtoprojector is inward-facing (i.e., facing towards the interior of the eye) and projects the AR images onto the user's retina, creating the appearance of virtual images in the external environment. The imaging device, referred to as a femtoimager for convenience, is outward-facing and captures a sequence of actual real-world images of the external environment. Because the femtoimager and femtoprojector move together, the real-world images captured by the femtoimager reflect the motion of the virtual AR images from the femtoprojector relative to the external environment.

Abstract: A variety of femtoprojector optical systems are described. Each of them can be made small enough to fit in a contact lens using plastic injection molding, diamond turning, photolithography and etching, or other techniques. Most, but not all, of the systems include a solid cylindrical transparent substrate with a curved primary mirror formed on one end and a secondary mirror formed on the other end. Any of the designs may use light blocking, light-redirecting, absorbing coatings or other types of baffle structures as needed to reduce stray light.

Abstract: An augmented reality system determines the position and orientation of an eye. The system includes an electronic contact lens that projects images onto a user's retina. The contact lens includes magnetic sensors. The magnetic sensors detect magnetic fields along one axis, or more than one axis, depending on their configuration. The sensors may be a conductive coil, a solenoid, or a tunneling magnetoresistance device. The sensors detect magnetic fields generated by magnetic sources. The magnetic sources may be collocated, or non-collocated, on a wearable device, a device in the environment, or a secondary electronic device. The sources may have different orientations such that they produce magnetic fields along different axes, and the sensors are configured to independently detect the magnetic fields. The system determines the pose of the eye using a combination of the measurements, and the position and orientation of the sensors and sources.

Abstract: An electronic intraocular device is implantable into the capsular bag of a wearer's eye. In some cases, the intraocular device may include a femtoprojector. The femtoprojector projects images onto the wearer's retina when the electronic intraocular device is implanted in the wearer's eye. Different haptic designs may be used to keep the femtoprojector in position. In some embodiments, an imager is contained in a contact lens worn by the wearer. Images captured by the contact lens imager may be relayed to the intraocular femtoprojector. In some cases, the intraocular device may include an electronic capsular tension ring with a femtoimager. The femtoimager may capture images of the wearer's retina, for example for purposes of monitoring eye health.

Abstract: An electronic intraocular device is implantable into the capsular bag of a wearer's eye. In some cases, the intraocular device may include a femtoprojector. The femtoprojector projects images onto the wearer's retina when the electronic intraocular device is implanted in the wearer's eye. Different haptic designs may be used to keep the femtoprojector in position. In some embodiments, an imager is contained in a contact lens worn by the wearer. Images captured by the contact lens imager may be relayed to the intraocular femtoprojector. In some cases, the intraocular device may include an electronic capsular tension ring with a femtoimager. The femtoimager may capture images of the wearer's retina, for example for purposes of monitoring eye health.

Abstract: An electronic intraocular device is implantable into the capsular bag of a wearer's eye. In some cases, the intraocular device may include a femtoprojector. The femtoprojector projects images onto the wearer's retina when the electronic intraocular device is implanted in the wearer's eye. Different haptic designs may be used to keep the femtoprojector in position. In some embodiments, an imager is contained in a contact lens worn by the wearer. Images captured by the contact lens imager may be relayed to the intraocular femtoprojector. In some cases, the intraocular device may include an electronic capsular tension ring with a femtoimager. The femtoimager may capture images of the wearer's retina, for example for purposes of monitoring eye health.

Abstract: An electronic intraocular device is implantable into the capsular bag of a wearer's eye. In some cases, the intraocular device may include a femtoprojector. The femtoprojector projects images onto the wearer's retina when the electronic intraocular device is implanted in the wearer's eye. Different haptic designs may be used to keep the femtoprojector in position. In some embodiments, an imager is contained in a contact lens worn by the wearer. Images captured by the contact lens imager may be relayed to the intraocular femtoprojector. In some cases, the intraocular device may include an electronic capsular tension ring with a femtoimager. The femtoimager may capture images of the wearer's retina, for example for purposes of monitoring eye health.

Abstract: An unobtrusive augmented reality (AR) system can be used to assist the wearer in every day interactions by projecting information from the contact lens display onto the retina of the wearer's eye. The unobtrusive augmented reality system includes a necklace and a contact lens display that are unobtrusive to the wearer and the wearer's surrounding environment. The necklace of the unobtrusive augmented reality system generates power and data for the contact lens displays. The necklace and contact lens display include conductive coils inductively coupled by a magnetic field. The inductive coupling allows data and power generated by the necklace to be transferred to the contact lens display. A projector in the contact lens display projects images generated from the data onto the retina of the wearers eye.

Abstract: A variety of femtoprojector optical systems are described. Each of them can be made small enough to fit in a contact lens using plastic injection molding, diamond turning, photolithography and etching, or other techniques. Most, but not all, of the systems include a solid cylindrical transparent substrate with a curved primary mirror formed on one end and a secondary mirror formed on the other end. Any of the designs may use light blocking, light-redirecting, absorbing coatings or other types of baffle structures as needed to reduce stray light.

Abstract: An unobtrusive augmented reality (AR) system can be used to assist the wearer in every day interactions by projecting information from the contact lens display onto the retina of the wearer's eye. The unobtrusive augmented reality system includes a necklace and a contact lens display that are unobtrusive to the wearer and the wearer's surrounding environment. The necklace of the unobtrusive augmented reality system generates power and data for the contact lens displays. The necklace and contact lens display include conductive coils inductively coupled by a magnetic field. The inductive coupling allows data and power generated by the necklace to be transferred to the contact lens display. A projector in the contact lens display projects images generated from the data onto the retina of the wearers eye.

Abstract: Operation of an electronic contact lens takes into account saccadic motion of the eye and reduced visual perception during saccades (saccadic suppression). The user's eye motion is tracked, and onset of a saccade is detected based on the eye's motion. For example, saccades may be detected when the eye's acceleration or jerk exceeds a threshold. The endpoint of the saccade is then predicted in real-time while the saccade is still occurring. This may be the temporal endpoint (i.e., when the saccade ends) and/or the positional endpoint (i.e., the eye position at the end of the saccade). Operation of the electronic contact lens is adjusted based on the predicted endpoint.

Abstract: Operation of an electronic contact lens takes into account saccadic motion of the eye and reduced visual perception during saccades (saccadic suppression). The user's eye motion is tracked, and onset of a saccade is detected based on the eye's motion. For example, saccades may be detected when the eye's acceleration or jerk exceeds a threshold. The endpoint of the saccade is then predicted in real-time while the saccade is still occurring. This may be the temporal endpoint (i.e., when the saccade ends) and/or the positional endpoint (i.e., the eye position at the end of the saccade). Operation of the electronic contact lens is adjusted based on the predicted endpoint.

Abstract: In one approach to eye tracking, a contact lens contains a network of twelve accelerometers. The accelerometers are positioned within the contact lens so that the measurements of acceleration can be used to estimate a position and an orientation of the eye relative to an external reference frame. One advantage of accelerometers is that they can be made relatively small and do not require much power. However, because the contact lens has a curved shape and is relatively thin, the possible locations for the accelerometers are limited. Various geometries for the accelerometer network and approaches to optimizing these geometries are described.

Abstract: Humans may exhibit characteristic patterns of eye movements when looking at specific objects. For example, when a person looks at the face of another person, their eyes exhibit a certain pattern of movements and saccades as they look at the face. An electronic contact lens includes eye tracking sensors and an outward looking imaging system that may capture images of the user's environment. When the eye tracking sensors detect the pattern of eye movements characteristic of looking at a face, the imaging system becomes active and captures images and performs facial recognition to identify the face using the captured images. The results of the facial recognition may be displayed to the user using a projector of the electronic contact lens.

Abstract: Humans may exhibit characteristic patterns of eye movements when looking at specific objects. For example, when a person looks at the face of another person, their eyes exhibit a certain pattern of movements and saccades as they look at the face. An electronic contact lens includes eye tracking sensors and an outward looking imaging system that may capture images of the user's environment. When the eye tracking sensors detect the pattern of eye movements characteristic of looking at a face, the imaging system becomes active and captures images and performs facial recognition to identify the face using the captured images. The results of the facial recognition may be displayed to the user using a projector of the electronic contact lens.

Abstract: A transmitter coil inductively couples to a receiver coil contained in a contact lens. In one approach, the transmitter coil is contained in a headgear, for example a head band. When the user wears the headgear, the transmitter coil is positioned on a side of the user's head and between the user's ear and the user's eye opening. In one implementation, a head band loops from one ear behind the user's head to the other ear, and also extends slightly forward of each ear. The transmitter coil(s) may be located in the portion of the headband that extends forward of each ear. This places the transmitter coil close to the receiver coil, typically within 40-50 mm of the user's eye opening, while still maintaining an unobtrusive aesthetic.