Contacts let you see in the dark with your eyes closed | Hacker News Reader

Contacts let you see in the dark with your eyes closed

scitechdaily.com

108 pointsgeox18 comments

Light in visible spectrum is emitted by the contact lenses. There can be no optical focusing for that light. No image formation on the retina. That means the user may see that there is IR light somewhere around, possibly the general direction where it's coming from (left vs right), but that's all. No IR image, not even general shapes.

I noticed the same thing, and while the article comments on it, I suspect the comments may be inaccurate:

> Because the contact lenses have limited ability to capture fine details (due to their close proximity to the retina, which causes the converted light particles to scatter), the team also developed a wearable glass system using the same nanoparticle technology, which enabled participants to perceive higher-resolution infrared information.

No, putting the contact closer to the retina would improve imaging, because it would have less distance to scatter. Glasses will not fix this. A potential solution would be implanting these nanoparticles directly above the retina, but that's a significantly more invasive option than what's being described here.

Well, you could even put them behind the retina. The photoreceptors of the retina are all upside-down, facing the back of the eye.

All the benefits with few of the downsides. That's pretty clever!

You can also focus a pixel by guiding it through a narrow tube, basically cutting off any out-of-focus light. Maybe they use meta-materials to do it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metamaterial

Yeah, the research is interesting, but the headline is, as usual, bs clickbait, also known as "false".

The article also mentions at the end that the contacts are only sensitive enough to detect IR emitted by an LED - they're not sensitive enough to "see" ambient IR. A far cry from "Contacts let you see in the dark with your eyes closed".

Several recent posts, think this one has the most discussion:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44063051

> In humans, the infrared contact lenses enabled participants to accurately detect flashing morse code-like signals and to perceive the direction of incoming infrared light. “It’s totally clear cut: without the contact lenses, the subject cannot see anything, but when they put them on, they can clearly see the flickering of the infrared light,” said Xue.

Sounds like promising tech but that’s not "seeing in the dark", yet.

I wonder if similarly-lackluster results could be achieved by special facepaint.

Kind of like how when you're camping, you can shield your eyes and still know where the campfire is.

Very cool but:

> Currently, the contact lenses are only able to detect infrared radiation projected from an LED light source, but the researchers are working to increase the nanoparticles’ sensitivity so that they can detect lower levels of infrared light.

> “There are many potential applications right away for this material. For example, flickering infrared light could be used to transmit information in security, rescue, encryption or anti-counterfeiting settings.”

Hmm

Good. I remember a certain video camera operating in the infrared fringe of the visible spectrum. You could see through light clothes. We do not want that again. At all.

All, or at least nearly all, digital camera sensors are sensitive in the IR. That's why most "normal" digital cameras have IR blocking filters. Security and astrophoto cameras have the filter removed. For astro there's also people who remove the filter manually[1].

[1]: https://camerasnipe.com/how-to-remove-the-ir-filter-from-a-d...

That link is kind of a fever dream of information a little ways in. Are you sure you meant to post that?

"First, remove the smartphone camera’s infrared filter as a whiteboard is on the floor. The beginning of the CCD chip is the scar we need to eliminate. Enter the IRF address, and use a hot air gun to remove it and your piece."?

Thanks for the catch. Was on the phone and in a hurry so didn't read the whole thing carefully, just several sections which looked ok.

Several passages that do not make much sense, looks like weird translation errors or something. Sorry about that.

Here's a proper guide[1] also with some sample post-conversion pictures. Though the specifics do vary from model to model so if you want to try make sure you find a suitable one, LifePixel has a collection[2] of model-specific tutorials for example.

[1]: https://petapixel.com/2014/09/19/in-depth-diy-eos-550d-infra...

[2]: https://www.lifepixel.com/tutorials/infrared-diy-tutorials

You do not "see" in the dark with these lenses in any meaningful way. They just light up in the visible spectrum when infrared light is shone on them.

The true solution would be IR, cyan and UVB cones.

if these contact lenses allow you to see better even when your eyes are closed, could this technology be used to help people who are blind or visually impaired? If so, that would be an absolutely incredible project! The potential for improving lives would be huge.

If it works then this is the product Bob Shaw described in A Wreath of Stars.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com