--- title: "DARPA: This Smart Contact Lens Could Give Soldiers Superpowers" description: "French engineering school IMT Atlantique revealed what it calls \"the first stand-alone contact lens with a flexible micro battery\" earlier this month." date: "2019-04-29" modified: "2019-04-29" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/darpa-augmented-reality-contact-lens" categories: - "DARPA" - "Military" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "augmented reality" - "contact lens" - "DARPA" - "smart contact lens" --- # DARPA: This Smart Contact Lens Could Give Soldiers Superpowers ![]() *\Image: IMT Atlantique\* ## Contact High French engineering school IMT Atlantique [revealed]() what it calls "the first stand-alone contact lens with a flexible micro battery" earlier this month. And, notably, it caught the attention of the U.S. military's attention: the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is reportedly interested in the contact lens to augment troops' visual capabilities in the field, [according to *Task and Purpose*]() — meaning the gadget could represent the augmented contact lens that DARPA has [spent a decade]() searching for. ## Weird Flex The biggest challenge that IMT Atlantique engineers encountered was to scale down the battery. But thanks to a newly developed flexible micro battery, they found a way to continuously light an LED light source for "several hours," according to a [press release](). The release also suggests that "graphene-based flexible electronics" could further enhance the smart contact lens' capabilities. Applications could range from assisting surgeons in the operating room to helping out drivers on the road. ## Enhanced Recon And now the military wants in on the project as well. French business magazine [*l'Usine Nouvelle* writes]() that DARPA is interested in the technology. Even tech giant Microsoft is ready to invest two million euros, according to the magazine — which is notable, considering the tech company's recent [HoloLens contract]() with the U.S. Army. "All the elements are ready," Jean-Louis Bougrenet de la Tocnaye, project lead at IMT Atlantique, told *l'Usine Nouvelle,* as translated from the original French. "We should integrate it in October 2019 and hope to start testing in 2020. Then we will be able to go to the qualifying clinical tests." **READ MORE:** [DARPA is Eyeing a High-Tech Contact Lens Straight Out of 'Mission: Impossible']() \[*The National Interest*\] **More on smart contact lenses:** *[DARPA: We're Moving to Merge Humans and Machines]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()