Remember the 6 Million Dollar Man? The classic 70s-era TV show extolled the virtues of combining man and machine to create a type of “superhuman,” with capabilities and potential far beyond that of the average person.

Some times real life imitates fiction: Fox news is reporting that scientists have developed a “bionic” digital contact lens with the ability to zoom in or out, making objects far in the distance clear and visible, and displaying useful facts and navigation details on the periphery of our vision.

A prototype has been developed by researchers at the Sandia National Laboratories in California, which proves that the technology is both viable and safe. Once perfected, the user looking through the “bionic” contact lens would see a superimposed display revealing lighting and distance information about any object in view.

Think of the Terminator movies, where the mechanized hero constantly viewed a wide variety of information relating to his current environment. Soon, that could be me and you.

The prototype for the new lens is constructed of micro electrical circuits, which are made of metal layers only a few nanometers thick each. As a comparison, each metal layer is 10 to 20 times thinner than the average human hair. The contact lens itself is made of organic materials, to prevent the body from rejecting the “foreign intruder.”

The prototype for the finished lens has been tested on rabbits in increments of 20 minutes at a time. So far, the animals have showed no negative responses, or attempts by the body to reject the cyber site-aid.

Researchers theorize that this technology can eventually yield many different types of high tech personal gadgets. For example, airline pilots could see their air speed and direction at all times. The same technology could even be used while driving, giving drivers constant access to their speed, direction and other useful safety updates on the road.

There is even talk of developing a video game system using the technology, which would allow gamers to completely immerse themselves in the landscape of the virtual world they are playing in. Rather than using a computer screen, the game world would be projected directly onto their eyes by the “bionic” lenses. Talk about virtual reality!

More usefully, researchers are even theorizing that site aids could be created using the technology to allow visually impaired people to see. Now that the basic technology has been proven in a prototype, we’re likely to see many different laboratories exploring the possibilities and usefulness of the bionic lens.

Of course, there are also naysayers who resent the idea of technological intrusions into the human body. But with plastic surgery, laser eye correction, mechanical hearts and other procedures being commonplace these days, it seems that the “purists” who resist the idea of technology being incorporated into the human body are fighting a losing battle.

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• Eye Vision
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