WASHINGTON University’s assistant professor Shyam Gollakota and his grad students have created a contact lens that can connect to a smartphone over Wi-Fi. The technology is said to be able to bring Internet connectivity into any object, even disposable ones. He invented a way for devices without batteries to communicate and power themselves by recycling signals from Wi-Fi devices or radio and TV stations. The researchers built their Wi-Fi contact lens to demonstrate the potential for their technology, known as backscatter, to improve medical devices, whether cheap sensors or more complex implants. They also built a flexible skin patch that can sense temperature and respiration, a design that could be used to monitor hospital patients. Another prototype takes the form of a concert poster that broadcasts a snippet of the band’s music over FM radio. Recent tests have shown that backscatter devices recycling the signals from a Wi-Fi router can make connections over a range of up to 1km. Backscatter technology makes it significantly cheaper to add connectivity to a device or object. Not only does it remove the cost of a battery, but the circuitry needed to communicate in this way is simpler and cheaper than conventional radio hardware. Lastly, if you are one of the innovative leaders with great inventions, showcase them at ITEX 2017! Contact us at info@itex.com.my for more information. Image Designed by Creativeart / Freepik www.freepik.com