At Maker Faire last May in San Mateo, California USA, designer Tien Pham wore his prototype f.lashes that use a string of tiny LEDs connected to a controller with a nearly invisible wire. The LED strip is attached to eyelids using standard eyelash adhesive. Since then, the idea of having LED-lit eyelashes has gone viral. Then Pham’s Kickstarter campaign has more than doubled its fundraising goal with two weeks left.
The f.lashes use a motion sensing controller. While you might think that the lashes change color, unfortunately, no RGB LEDs were small enough. The f.lashes LED strips come in seven different colors. Men and women in the Kickstarter pictures and video of the devices in action make the wearers look like rave party vampires! However, they certainly make someone stand out in a crowd.
Like most prototypes, some design features need fixing. The wires attached to the controller that is worn behind one’s head look especially fragile.
Presumably, Bluetooth connectivity is also too large to put on eyelids so far. Who knows, such devices may start a trend of temporary and even semi-permanent LED-based body modification.
