'Bionic' Pair Seeks Webcams for Eyes

Once Wired magazine's Kevin Kelly mentioned it on his blog, her post quickly caused a blogospheric stir.

Tanya Vlach shows her prosthetic eye.

(Courtesy Jonathan James)

Vlach said she expected some attention but has been surprised by the more than 100 blog comments and 50 or so e-mails she's accumulated since her post went live last week.

But one of the most promising message she received has been the one from Spence.

As luck would have it, the Toronto-based filmmaker is actually not so far from Vlach this week, attending an imaging technology conference in Monterey, Calif.

The purpose of his trip? To make a presentation about his plans to enhance his artificial eye.

On Thursday, Vlach said, she plans to meet with Spence for the first time to learn more about his project. Although it's likely that the two will work together in some way, she said, she has other interesting responses she plans to review before making a decision.

Is a Bionic Eye Really Possible?

In her original blog post, Vlach included a list of specifications she'd gathered from her research on miniature cameras.

She challenged engineers to envision a Bluetooth type eye-cam with a remote trigger that would allow her to blink to zoom, focus and switch on and off.

Engineers and tech enthusiasts responded with a flurry of suggestions, including copying technology that enables endoscope cameras in pills that give doctors high-resolution video of a patient's intestines.

But many supporters also voiced a few key concerns: namely, powering the device and creating enough room in the prosthetic to hold a camera, a power source and a transmitter.

Spence, however, said he has been working with Steve Mann, an MIT graduate and University of Toronto engineering professor, to overcome these issues.

A pioneer in wearable computing, Mann has lived for the last 30 years as a "cyborg," with a wireless video camera that allows him to transmit the daily events of his life to the Internet.

The duo said they are four to six months away from a prototype that meets Vlach's specifications.

Spence said that his ocularist has created a prosthetic roomy enough to house all the key components and that they are experimenting with batteries and wireless power.

He said they are also still tinkering with a prosthetic that will open, so that batteries can be inserted, and seal securely.