While it may seem like Google is the only tech giant which comes up with the out-of-box and jaw-dropping technologies, believe it or not, that’s not always the case. At least not with Google’s smart contact lens, anyway. Going by some recent revelations, it seems like Microsoft was the first one to see potentials in it.
Just this week, Google unwrapped the curtains off a new project it has been working on. Named as ‘Smart contact lens’, it is nothing short of a god-gift for diabetics. The contacts in this device are laced up with tiny wireless chips and a sensor that detect the glucose levels in tears. The results are then beamed to a supported device wirelessly.
Back in 2011, Microsoft was working on the same project, with the same guy. Given the project didn’t have much maturity back then, one could see why Microsoft might not have summoned enough hoods to jump on it. “People were not convinced that this was doable. A lot of people considered it science fiction,” says Babak Parviz, co-founder of the project. There was at least one person at Microsoft Research who seemed convinced with it, though.
“Desney Tan [a Microsoft researcher] and Microsoft Research were early on convinced that this was a worthy cause. They were willing to work with us and support us. We’re very grateful they did that.”
Seeing how things have turned out today, it does prove that Google researchers are no slouch at what they do. Especially, since Parviz is also spearheading the Glass project. Unfortunately, while Microsoft offered initial support for the project, they will be missing out now that Google is looking to bring it to fruition.
