Eye-5

"Torchwood contact lenses" was the nickname for special contact lenses used for covert surveillance and recording.

Functions
The lens, though they looked and functioned just like normal contact lenses, could transmit information wirelessly back to a computer network. A person at the other end could then communicate with them via a keyboard. However, the lens could not transmit sound. (TW: Reset) To get around this, the lens had lip-reading software, which worked best when the person in question faced the camera directly. The lip-reading software transcribed lip movements to speech after a short delay of a second or two. Information transmitted from the lens could get recorded like conventional video. (TW: Children of Earth: Day Three) According to Gwen Cooper, they were also apparently untraceable. (TW: source?)

History of use
The lens were used by Martha Jones when infiltrating the Pharm. (TW: Reset) Later, after Rhys and Gwen borrowed them for some "fun", Lois Habiba, the secretary to John Frobisher used them to record secret negotiations between the British government and the 456. (TW: Children of Earth: Day Three) Downloaded onto a laptop, Rhys Williams then held onto the information so that he could, if Torchwood 3 needed to do it, reveal the negotiations to the public. (TW: source?) After the conclusion of the 456 crisis, Bridget Spears wore the lens to record Prime Minister Brian Green casually mentioning his complicity in the affair. (TW: Children of Earth: Day Five)


 * The interface looked slightly different on each occasion.