Researchers Develop Eye-Tracking System Powered by Blinks

Research published last week in Cell Reports Physical Science reports a breakthrough in eye-tracking contact lens technology and general low-power energy harvesting. It's not going to be the basis of a next-gen VR headset for gaming (not unless people decide they're willing to pop in contact lenses just to play Fortnite), but it's still a groundbreaking moment with exciting implications.

The technology combines a simple on-eye detector (hidden within a contact lens) with a pair of glasses that detect the faint signals it generates. The contact lenses have no on-board power source and harvest energy from blinks to function. We'll get into how below, but the upshot is that the system can detect eye movements as small as two degrees with 99% precision.

The energy harvesting happens via "triboelectric nanogenerators," which use electrostatic induction to capture the tiny current introduced by friction between the contact lens ...