I have terrible eyesight. Correctable medium myopia, with a heavy dose of astigmatism, keeps glasses on my head for 90% of my waking hours. (The remaining 10% is split between showers and punctuating dramatic one-liners.) My first eye doctor made a point to remind me of, upon each visit,how hard it is to repair a damaged eye. Thus, fueled by a fear of losing my eyesight, I always get excited about new technology for the eyeballs.

Researchers at The University of Michigan have successfully developed one of the first millimeter-scale computer systems. They aim to use the technology to monitor eye pressure in glaucoma patients, by inserting this tiny computer near the eye. Their overall goal for the technology however, has much broader implications. Dr. David Blaauw explains:

“The next big challenge is to achieve millimeter-scale systems, which have a host of new applications for monitoring our bodies, our environment and our buildings. Because they’re so small, you could manufacture hundreds of thousands on one wafer. There could be 10s to 100s of them per person and it’s this per capita increase that fuels the semiconductor industry’s growth.”

While I’m ready and willing to have a computer stuck in my eye if it means keeping what little eyesight I have, the thought of barely-visible monitoring systems is a little un-nerving. Like almost any technology, its application largely dictates what effect it has on society. Relatively cheap sensors with a continuous internet connection are already used in a variety of circumstances. Louisiana’s Bucket Brigade uses air monitoring devices to hold companies responsible for polluting residential neighborhoods. It is fairly common for parolees and recovering alcoholics to wear ankle bracelets that can detect trace amounts of drugs or alcohol through their sweat.

Nano computers give us the option of imperceptibly monitoring a wide array of bodily and environmental changes. What industry and organizations do with that ability can change lives. It can mean the difference between clean air and rampant pollution; repaying your debt to society and another six months in jail for eating a poppy seed bagel; or sight and blindness.