A new patent filing shows plans for a device that would stuck into people’s eyes and correct their sight, but also provide extra powers. Though the technology in the patent may never actually be released, it is another example of Google’s apparent interest in getting computers onto and into people’s eyes.
The injectable machine would be put just behind the visible part of the eye, focusing light so that it can correct poor vision.
But it would also include storage, a radio and lenses, the patent says. It would power all of that using an energy-gathering antenna.
That antenna would allow it to connect to another device outside of the eye that would help it process information and give it power.
The patent appears to show that Google is still focusing on getting its products onto or into people’s eyeballs. It had previously tried to do so with Google Glass, but that idea ran into issues and is now being relaunched as a product meant specifically to be used in the workplace.
Patents since then have appeared to show that the company is making steps onto the eyeball itself, rather than just its vision. In 2014, it filed another patent but for smart contact lenses that could display information and monitor their wearer’s glucose levels.
Work on the technology in that patent appears to be ongoing and the company is working with a healthcare company to develop similar technology. But many technology patents never actually make it to market, and so the injectable computer might not actually make it into people’s eyes any time soon.