Eye - 5 The Eye - 5 ( or I - 5 ) was a special kind of contact lens that could be used to record the things it saw . Functions . The Eye - 5 , though it looked and functioned just like a normal contact lens , could transmit information wirelessly back to a computer network . ( TV : " Reset " ) It could also be routed to all wireless networks in the area and could even broadcast on TVs . ( TV : " End of the Road " ) Information transmitted from the lens could be recorded like conventional video . ( TV : " " ) A person at the other end could communicate with the wearer via a keyboard . ( TV : " Reset " ) The lens could not transmit sound . ( TV : " 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 translated lip movements to speech after a delay of a second or two . ( TV : " " ) However , the lenses were seemingly upgraded as when Rex Matheson used them , they could transmit audio . ( TV : " End of the Road " ) The Eye - 5 had several other features . It could be used to get past an iris scan by creating the image of an iris . ( TV : " Escape to LA " ) It could also be linked to detect the wearer ' s heart beat , activating at a certain rate . ( TV : " End of the Road " ) History of use . According to Jack Harkness , the Eye - 5 originally came from a distant moon in a distant galaxy . ( TV : " Dead of Night " ) Torchwood Three was able to obtain a set and used it for espionage . Ianto Jones and Gwen Cooper were also known to have borrowed them for " fun " that is implied to have been of a sexual nature . ( TV : " " ) The lenses were used by Martha Jones when infiltrating the Pharm . ( TV : " Reset " ) Though Torchwood Three was destroyed , the Eye - 5 survived due to Gwen Cooper having borrowed them for " fun " with Rhys Williams . Though the team possessed limited resources , the Eye - 5 software still existed on the Torchwood server and Ianto downloaded it to a laptop at Gwen ' s request . Lois Habiba used them to record secret negotiations between the British government and the 456 . ( TV : " " ) Downloaded onto a laptop , Rhys Williams held onto the information so that he could reveal the negotiations to the public . ( TV : " " ) 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 . ( TV : " " ) Gwen Cooper used the Eye - 5s in 2011 to record while infiltrating PhiCorp . ( TV : " Dead of Night " ) She also used it to get past an iris scanner at the PhiCorp headquarters . ( TV : " Escape to LA " ) When Gwen returned to Wales , she used them to record what was happening in the overflow camp s . When she arrived in America , she received a text message in the lenses , informing her that her mother , husband and daughter had been kidnapped , and would not be returned unless she gave them Jack . ( TV : " The Middle Men " ) Olivia Colasanto gave Gwen further instructions on the Eye - 5s and Rex Matheson and Esther Drummond found and rescued her and Jack by tracking the Eye - 5 ' s after hacking in when they got suspicious . ( TV : " Immortal Sins " ) After Jack and Gwen were saved , Rex stole the Eye - 5s and had them activate when his heart rate increased . When he was being interrogated by Brian Friedkin , the Eye - 5s recorded him , revealing Brian ' s acts and his betrayal of the CIA . ( TV : " End of the Road " )