Sony has filed a patent for a contact lens that will allow users to record and play back video images.

The proposed design would build on both contact lens and smartphone technology, and will be controlled by the user blinking.

The US patent application reads as follows:

Object: To provide a contact lens and storage medium capable of controlling an image pickup unit provided in the contact lens.

Solution: Provided is a contact lens including: a lens unit configured to be worn on the eyeball; an image pickup unit configured to capture a picture of a subject, the image pickup unit being provided in the lens unit; and an image pickup control unit configured to control the image pickup unit.

The application describes the contact lens as having a predetermined image pickup function triggered by blinking. Users will be able to use eye blinks to flick through commands, with the lens differentiating between conscious and unconscious blinking by differences in the duration.

“This makes it possible to make an intelligent contact lens, thereby remarkably improving usability for the user,” it reads.

In addition, the patent details how the device would be able to adjust zoom, focus, and aperture like smartphones do today.

What would Steve Austin think?