Pentagon orders heads up display lenses

BBC News reports that the Pentagon have ordered a special type of contact lens incorporating dual focus optics which allows the wearer to view a heads-up display whilst maintaining normal vision.

The iOptik system made by Innovega is being delivered to Darpa the Pentagon’s high tech R&D unit and most likely is destined for the battlefield but could eventually be combined with augmented reality systems that are all the rage right now.

Of course multifocal contact lenses aren’t a new idea, (neither are contact lens based heads up displays for that matter). We’ve been fitting multifocals at Cameron Optometry for years to people who require dual focus (for distance and reading as the eye ages a little). If only Darpa had thought to come here first…