New lenses can grant 'super-vision' to allow night vision without goggles

Researchers at the University of Science and Technology of China have developed soft contact lenses that let humans see both infrared and normally visible colours of light. 

According to the researchers, one can see infrared light with the lenses even with the eyes closed. 

According to the journal Cell Press, these lenses work without any power source and allow users to see both visible and invisible (to the naked eye) colours simultaneously. 

“Our research opens up the potential for non-invasive wearable devices to give people super-vision,” said Tian Xue, a neuroscientist at the University of Science and Technology of China and the lead scientist in the project that developed the contact lenses.

Unlike traditional night vision goggles, which rely on electronics and emit a familiar green glow, these lenses use engineered particles to perform a remarkable conversion from infrared to visible light. 

“Over half of the solar radiation energy, existing as infrared light, remains imperceptible to humans,” said Dr. Yuqian Ma, a researcher on the project. The team sought to change that by embedding upconversion nanoparticles — which convert infrared light to visible light — directly into the contact lens material.

CHINESE SCIENTISTS INVENTED extraordinary contact lenses that give wearers "super-vision", a top science journal reported yesterday.

They give humans the ability to see the invisible part of the spectrum known as infrared, according to a paper in Cell, an academic science… pic.twitter.com/CHXkIPJ7bZ

— Nury Vittachi (@NuryVittachi) May 23, 2025

Humans can only see a narrow range of colours, with wavelengths varying between 400 and  700 nanometres. Each nanometre is equal to one-millionth of a millimetre. 

But other species experience the world through very different lenses. Birds, bees, reindeer and mice can detect ultraviolet light, which falls below the range of human sight. 

At the other end, animals like snakes and vampire bats can sense far-infrared or thermal radiation, with wavelengths far above the range visible to humans, a skill that helps them locate prey in the dark.

Tian sees widespread application of the newly developed contact lenses even if they lack the full infrared vision. 

“For example, secret messages sent by infrared light would only be visible to people wearing the contact lenses,” he said.

The researchers believe the improved perception behind closed eyelids is due to how human tissue interacts with different types of light. The eyelid filters out visible light more than infrared, allowing the infrared signals to reach the retina with less interference.

The technology is still in its early stages. 

The current lenses are not sensitive enough to pick up the low-intensity infrared emitted naturally by warm objects. Instead, they only pick up light projected from LED sources, which are very bright.

“If material scientists can develop upconversion nanoparticles with higher efficiency, it may become possible to see surrounding infrared light using contact lenses,” said Tian.

While the lenses do not yet enable thermal vision, which would allow users to detect heat emitted by objects, researchers say the applications are already promising. Future work will focus on making more effective lenses.

"By converting red visible light into something like green visible light, this technology could make the invisible visible for colour blind people,"  Tian said.

The lenses open the possibility of receiving secret messages transmitted via infrared signals. The technology can also be adapted to assist those with colour vision deficiency by converting wavelengths they cannot perceive into ones they can. 

The new contact lens, due to its easily wearable approach, can pave the way for the development of everyday devices that can expand the scope of how we sense the world around us.

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Source: TRT