Microbatteries for smart glasses

A strategic partnership for problem solving.

There is a silent problem that prevents the next computing revolution from happening and curiously it is not in the processors, in the artificial intelligences or in the screens, it is in the batteries, because creating a smart contact lens capable of displaying augmented reality, monitoring vital signs and connecting wirelessly seems incredible in theory until you realize that all of that must literally work on the human.

And it is exactly that challenge that a company from the United Arab Emirates called XPANCEO is trying to solve together with the French company Iten, both announced a solid-state micro-battery so small that it fits inside a contact lens, we are talking about a device that measures just a few tens of cubic millimeters, but perhaps the most impressive thing is not the size.

The problem with conventional Lithium Ion batteries is that they were simply not made to be in contact with someone's eye, they can overheat, leak or even combust in extreme situations and obviously that becomes a worrying detail when the battery is literally on your cornea.

The solution found was to abandon liquid electrolytes and use a solid-state all-ceramic architecture. In practice, this means a much more stable battery, without the risk of leaks and that stops working in case of damage, it's just that miniaturizing a safe battery does not solve everything.

Smart glasses require constant energy and an absurdly limited space, basic sensors can work by taking advantage of body heat, ambient light or even the energy generated by blinking, but augmented reality is another story, projecting images directly into human vision requires continuous power and an extremely high energy density and that is where the most interesting part of engineering comes in.

Iten developed a patented microporous structure using ceramic nanomaterials, in simple terms, the battery electrodes possess a microscopic network of extremely controlled pores, dramatically increasing the area available for chemical reactions, this allows for fast charging, high power and stability, all within a microscopic space.

According to the developers, the biggest difficulty with smart glasses was never the screen, nor the sensors, but the energy system and apparently the industry is finally beginning to find a viable solution, since 2025 Iten has already been producing its first solid-state ceramic microbatteries on scale, now they are being specifically adapted to the requirements of XPANCEO smart glasses, only that showing information to humans may be just the beginning, because some artificial intelligences are already beginning to interact directly with our body.