Super soldier Captain America may have had excellent vision back in the 40s, but modern soldiers may have the opportunity to outstrip the Avengers sight with Predator-style vision.

Innovegas iOptik contact lenses sharpen real world vision while simultaneously simulating a 3D HD panoramic screen. The company hopes to gain FDA approval this year -- and the Department of Defense has recently placed an order for a prototype.

HUDs (head-up displays) that present a virtual computer screen to the viewer have become increasingly advanced and complex. But military models, notably bulky helmets for fighter pilots that overlay data on targets, tend to be cumbersome.

A computer interface thats entirely hands-free could give troops a clear advantage.

For example, soldiers, marines, airmen or seamen who need their hands free for weapons use could study a detailed map without toying with a handheld or dropping their gaze. The iOptik system could also potentially provide real-time feeds from satellites, drones or even a teammates helmet camera, displayed as if on a transluscent computer screen to a fighter on the move.

Innovegas iOptik contact lenses are intended to be fielded together with a far more compact HUD unit; picture Oakley sunglasses modified to allow the images to be projected onto them.

There are two primary options for this type of display: VR (virtual reality) systems that swap a soldiers real world view for a computer generated one, and AR (augmented reality) systems that superimpose computer generated images over reality.

Research undertaken by the company has been funded by DARPA and the National Science Foundation and their AR lenses work by using two different filters in each lens -- in effect the soldier can see through the data to the real world.

The system creates a dual-focus effect for the eye by sending light to different parts of the pupil; the retina sees both images in focus simultaneously. A data feed (or satellite feed, or map info or whatever) is sent from the center of each lens to the center of the pupil while light from the real world is directed by the outer part of the lens to the rim of the pupil.

The human eye has a restricted capacity to focus on very near objects, leading to solutions that make data appear as if on a computer screen several feet away; Innovegas iOptik creates the effect of viewing a 20-foot television at a distance of 10 feet.

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Super Vision for Soldiers