Science Fiction Dictionary
A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

Latest By
Category:


Armor
Artificial Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work

"This category [science fiction] excludes rocket ships that make U-turns, serpent men of Neptune that lust after human maidens, and stories by authors who flunked their Boy Scout merit badge tests in descriptive astronomy."
- Robert Heinlein

Smart Contact Lenses  
  Contact lenses that have a built-in computer display.  

In the tomorrow explored in this novella, wearable computers display data right before your eyes.

"What really makes it possible?"

Juan squinted at him. "My contact lenses? Smart clothes?" Certainly the lens displays would be useless without a wearable computer to do the graphics.

"That's just the final output device."

Technovelgy from Fast Times At Fairmont High, by Vernor Vinge.
Published by Not known in 2001
Additional resources -

Vinge expands on the idea in his 2006 novel Rainbows End, set in the same milieu:

"...Robert, you should be wearing. You look silly walking around with that view-page clutched in your hand..."

Miri... leaned her head forward, and stuck a finger close to her right eye. "You already know about contacts, right? Wanna see one?" Her hand came away from her eye. A tiny disk sat on the tip of her middle finger. It was the size and shape of the contact lenses he had known. He hadn't expected more, but... he bent closed and looked. After a moment, he realized that it was not quite a clear lens. Speckles of colored brightness swirled and gathered in it. "I'm driving it at safety max, or you wouldn't see the lights." The tiny lens became hazy, then frosty white. "Uk. It powered down. But you get the idea.."

If you think that this form of display is a bit intrusive, you're right. As one character remarks in Rainbows End:

"Without some control it's like old-time television, but much more intrusive. We wouldn't want you to be hijacked..."

You'd need to go back a ways to find the earliest use of this kind of idea. Try the retinal vid-screen from Philip K. Dick's 1954 story Sales Pitch.

Compare to DreamTime Scleral Contact Lenses from The California Voodoo Game (1992) by Larry Niven (w/S. Barnes).

Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |

Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from Fast Times At Fairmont High
  More Ideas and Technology by Vernor Vinge
  Tech news articles related to Fast Times At Fairmont High
  Tech news articles related to works by Vernor Vinge

Smart Contact Lenses-related news articles:
  - Smart Contact Lenses Charges With 3D Printed Antenna
  - Vernor Vinge Smart Contact Lens On Wired
  - Augmented Reality Humanoid Robot U-Tsu-Shi-O-Mi
  - Circuit Smart Contact Lens, Presaged By Niven, Barnes and Vinge
  - Samsung Patent For Smart Contact Lens Camera Granted
  - The Mojo Smart Contact Lens Experience

Articles related to Display
Augmented Reality Book Covers Reveal The Inner Book
TCL CSOT 17-Inch Printed OLED Scrolling Display
Looking Glass Display Good Enough For Science Fiction, Fantasy
LG Wing Twisting Smartphone Might Be Fun

Want to Contribute an Item? It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add it here.

<Previous
Next>

Google
  Web TechNovelgy.com   

 

 

Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.

 

 

 

 

Science Fiction Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's   1950's
1960's   1970's
1980's   1990's
2000's   2010's

Science Fiction in the News

Wearable Energy Harvester
'... he had tightened the chest to gain maximum pumping action from the motion of breathing.'

Drones Participate In Buddhist Rites
'...a prayer wheel swung into view and began spinning at a furious pace.'

Anna Indiana AI Singer-Songwriter
'She is a personality-construct, a congeries of software agents'

Video Manicuring ala Schismatrix
'The program raced up the screen one scan line at a time'

'Feel the AGI' OpenAI Leader Now OpenWorship
'And are all the people willing to be governed by a machine?'

NASA Tests Prototype Europa Lander
Why have legs if they don't walk around?

Tailsitter Drone Aircraft For SAR
'...it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair.'

Forward CarePod The AI Doctor's Office
'It's an old model,' Rawlins said. 'I'm not sure what to do.'

Mika The Robot-Boss
'the robot-boss was busy at the lip of the new lode instructing and egging the men on to greater speed...'

Yamaha Motoroid 2 No Handlebars Self-Balancing Motorcycle
'He rode the bike with an intense lack of physical grace...'

More SF in the News

More Beyond Technovelgy

Home | Glossary | Science Fiction Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.