Google has been granted a patent this week that could result in smart contacts lenses. An embedded chip in the lens has the potential to help people with diabetes measure glucose levels.
Earlier this year the search giant openly confirmed that the Google Glass project would be put aside, even though development would still continue.
Google confirmed months ago to be working with pharmaceutical company Novartis to develop lenses for patients with diabetes.
The American giant is currently in talks with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The lenses are made of two different layers, with a chip sat between the layers. Featuring a sensor, the chip features a tiny pinhole which lets tear fluid from the eye reach the glucose sensor. The sensor can measure levels every second.
Eric Schmidt, Google’s executive chairman, said that the Glass project is a "big and very fundamental platform for Google."
"We ended the Explorer program and the press conflated this into us cancelling the whole project, which isn’t true.
"Google is about taking risks and there’s nothing about adjusting Glass that suggests we’re ending it," he added.
