A revolutionary new contact lens is enabling blind people to read electronic braille. 

Fitted and worn like a regular contact lens, the implant is manufactured with electrodes, which get signals from a camera - either held in the hand or worn on spectacles, Daily Mail reports.

When a wearer looks or points the camera to an object, the camera translates the image to a type of electronic Braille, and the contact lens 'excites' the retina with tactile sensations, according to a report from the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The lens is being developed by Professor Zeev Zalevsky, of Israel's Bar-Ilan University's Faculty of Engineering.

He said: 'It's like reading Braille, not with your fingertips but with your eyes'

Unlike Braille, which relies on positioning of six dots to convey information to a reader, the sensors in the cornea of the eye are 600 times more sensitive to tactile stimulation than the fingertips, says Professor Zalevsky.

The lenses have yet to be tested on humans, but trials on animals established they were able to see their way through obstacles in the dark.

Professor Zalevsky added: 'Our solution can help blind people read letters, or help you orient yourself in three dimensions. This means you could cross the road without getting run over by a car, from a functional point of view.'