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1

0:00/1:34

Scientists in Singapore have invented a new flexible battery that could power safe, comfortable smart contact lenses — partially charged by our tears.

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Contact lenses equipped with tiny displays could change how we see the world, allowing us to tap into the potential of augmented reality (AR) without having to wear bulky glasses everywhere we go.

Smart contact lenses could also help us stay healthy by dispensing drugs or monitoring our eyes for signs of diseases, such as glaucoma and diabetes.

번역 보기
bulky
덩치가 큰
dispense
(약사가 약을) 조제하다
glaucoma
녹내장
diabetes
당뇨병

2

0:00/1:34

This tech really exists — as prototypes. But to move out of the lab and into our eyes, the lenses need a safe power source that doesn’t affect their function or wearability, and researchers haven’t quite figured out that part of the equation.

번역 보기
wearability
내구성, 입기 편함
equation
(여러 요소를 고려해야 하는) 상황, 문제

“The most common battery charging system for smart contact lenses requires metal electrodes in the lens, which are harmful if they are exposed to the naked human eye,” said Yun Jeonghun, co-first author of the new study from the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore.

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electrode
전극

3

0:00/1:34

“Meanwhile, another mode of powering lenses, induction charging, requires a coil to be in the lens to transmit power, much like wireless charging pad for a smartphone,” he continued.

번역 보기
meanwhile
한편, 그 동안에
transmit
전송하다, 전도하다

4

0:00/1:34

The NTU researchers have now unveiled an ultra thin, flexible battery that doesn’t contain any wires or toxic heavy metals. It’s coated in a glucose-based material that reacts with the molecules in saline solution in a way that generates electricity and charges the battery.

번역 보기
unveil
(새로운 기술, 상품 등을) 발표하다
glucose
포도당
saline
식염수

Molecules in a person’s own tears can charge it, too, though not enough to eliminate the need for a regular soak in saline solution — according to testing with simulated eye tears, for every 12 hours of wear, a person’s natural eye moisture would add an extra hour of charge. 

번역 보기
wear
착용, (장시간의) 사용, 마모

5

0:00/1:34

In testing, the flexible battery produced a max power of 201 microwatts, which the researchers say would be enough to send data from smart contact lenses for 12 hours. It was also robust enough for 200 charging cycles. 

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robust
튼튼한, 탄탄한

“The smart contact lenses industry has been looking for a thin, biocompatible battery that does not contain heavy metals, and this invention could help further their development to meet some unmet needs of the industry,” said Murukeshan Vadakke Matham, an associate professor at NTU who specializes in biomedical and nanoscale optics and was not involved in the study.

번역 보기
biocompatible
생체에 거부 반응을 일으키지 않는
unmet
충족되지 않은, 채워지지 않는
biomedical
생물, 생체 의학의
nanoscale
나노의
optics
광학