Ideas
Explore the world's #1 largest database of ideas and innovations, with 459,692 inspiring examples.
Trend Reports
Discover why 1,236 brands rely on our AI-powered Trend Reports to get better, faster insights.
Newsletter
Join 321,366 subscribers who rely on our weekly newsletter to keep up with need-to-know trends and insights.
How to Hunt
Learn more about how to hunt megatrends, ideas, patterns and opportunity.
Consumer Insights
Uncover major shifts and emerging opportunities with our exclusive PRO research.
Trend Reports
Discover why 1,236 brands rely on our AI-powered Trend Reports to get better, faster insights.
Newsletter
Join 321,366 subscribers who rely on our weekly newsletter to keep up with need-to-know trends and insights.
How to Hunt
Learn more about how to hunt megatrends, ideas, patterns and opportunity.
Advisory & Services
Accelerate innovation and ignite disruptive thinking with our award-winning programs and research.
Trend Reports
Get fast, customized trend reports, presentations and deep dives 20x faster than traditional research.
Plans
Get started today with a free consultation, our self-serve tools, or a dedicated program.
Articles & Magazine
Get inspired with our 4,208 innovation strategy articles, keynote, videos and innovation tools.
Innovation Awards
Trend Hunter’s Innovation Strategy Awards recognize the best innovation tactics gathered from our interviews with some of the world's most notable business leaders, authors and change makers.
Advisory & Services
Accelerate innovation and ignite disruptive thinking with our award-winning programs and research.
Innovation Assessment
Enhance your innovation potential with a deeper understanding of your unique innovation archetype and how your organization benchmarks.
FuturistU
Prepare for the years ahead with 100+ lessons, tactics, tools and frameworks with our full learning database.
Innovation Books
Join 20,000,000 people getting better and faster with our New York Times Bestselling books and keynote videos.
Jeremy Gutsche
Ignite your event or virtual event with our CEO, a NY Times Bestselling Author and one of the top innovation keynote speakers.
Our Team of Speakers & Virtual Presenters
Inspire your group with our most popular speakers on innovation, trends, change and futurism.
Custom Training & Events
Bring the Future Festival experience directly to your team or co-hosted custom event.
Custom Masterclasses
Join the world's leading brands who leverage our custom programs to accelerate innovation.
FuturistU 5-Day Program
Become a Futurist with our immersive 5-Day program at Future Festival World Summit.
Online eLearning
Learn the fundamentals of futurism and trends with 100+ online courses about innovation.
How to Hunt
Learn more about how to hunt megatrends, ideas, patterns and opportunity.
Contact
Get in touch to learn more, ask a question or submit a tip.
About Us
Learn more about Trend Hunter and how we accelerate innovation.
Follow-Us
Join our 3,500,000 social media followers, on the cutting edge.
How to Hunt
Learn more about how to hunt megatrends, ideas, patterns and opportunity.
FAQ
Get answers to common questions about Trend Hunter.
Community
Stay on the cutting-edge with the help of the Trend Hunter community.
Team
Meet the team trusted by hundreds of leading businesses worldwide.
Jobs
Find opportunities to accelerate your career with the #1 Trend Firm.
News
Catch up on noteworthy Trend Hunter news and media mentions.
Join
Build a portfolio and put your trend-spotting abilities to the test.
Advertising
Supercharge your marketing by partnering with Trend Hunter.
Portfolio
Visit your public portfolio and browse your past articles.
Add a Trend
Write up an article and showcase your trend-spotting skills.
My Trends
Edit your articles and see how they stack up on the leaderboards.
Settings
Edit your profile, connect your social media accounts, and more.
Add a trend, customize your dashboard, or track topics.
Future Festival
Innovation Events
Join the world's top innovators at our in person events.
Free Webinars
Learn to innovate through chaos, navigate the new normal and maintain work culture from home.
Custom Training & Events
Bring the Future Festival experience directly to your team or co-hosted custom event.
Search our database of 459,692 cutting edge ideas.

Sunglass Contact Lenses

Automatically Darkening Contact Lenses on the Horizon

— November 17, 2009 — Fashion
We’ve all seen the sunglasses that magically darken in the presence of light; those glasses are coated with a substance that reacts to Ultraviolet (UV) Light. While this technology is tried and true on larger surfaces like lenses, it does not work well on smaller, flimsy surfaces like contact lenses.

As a result, contact lens wearers have had to settle for one of two solutions: tinted lenses or sunglasses worn over the contacts. Unfortunately, both of these solutions have drawbacks, or defeat the reason for wearing contacts in the first place.

Enter Jackie Ying, director of the Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) in Singapore. Dr. Ying has developed a technique for embedding UV sensitive dyes into the flimsy lenses as opposed to coating them. The lenses behave just like their exteriorly worn counterparts. They darken in the sunlight, and go back to clear when the wearer is out of the light: automatically darkening contact lenses.

No muss, no fuss. The eyes have it.
Trend Themes
1. Automatically Darkening Contact Lenses - Developing contact lenses that automatically darken in sunlight presents new opportunities in the eyewear industry, particularly for active individuals who want to replace traditional sunglasses with a more comfortable and convenient solution.
2. Uv-sensitive Dye Embedding Technology - The technique of embedding UV-sensitive dyes into contact lenses has the potential to revolutionize the way we approach eyewear technology, opening up new possibilities for integrating monitoring and other features into the lens material.
3. Smart Contact Lenses - The development of contact lenses with embedded UV-sensitive dyes creates potential for smart contact lenses, which can adapt to different lighting conditions and offer health monitoring and other features to wearers.
Industry Implications
1. Eyewear - The development of automatically darkening contact lenses is a disruptive innovation opportunity for eyewear companies looking to offer a more comfortable and convenient alternative to traditional sunglasses.
2. Healthcare Technology - The potential for smart contact lenses opens up opportunities for healthcare technology companies to develop products that integrate monitoring and other features into the lens material.
3. Nanotechnology - The UV-sensitive dye embedding technology developed by the Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology creates opportunities for companies developing products in the nanotechnology industry to apply similar techniques to other materials, potentially leading to new innovations and applications.
3.6
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness