In the process of my research, I came across a company that has presented a prototype of an augmented reality contact lens. The company, Mojo Vision, was founded in California in 2015 and has since been trying to bring to market a contact lens that sits so close to the pupil that the eye can’t see the lens, allowing virtual elements to become visible. The Mojo Lens is currently still a prototype and must first pass some testing to be certified and considered safe and effective to use. It will take probably a few more years before the first medical tests will start.
What is fascinating about the prototype is that technical components such as chips, displays or sensors can be made so small that they can be combined in a contact lens.
The contact lens should only display information or items when they are wanted. The lens can therefore understand when it is needed and when it is more of a nuisance. The state of the current prototype (shown in 2020) – or more precisely – of the Display of the Mojo Lens can currently be tried out with a VR headset. In this world, you can see, for example, the current weather or weather forecasts, the amount of traffic or a calendar when you focus your eyes on a certain spot in the image.
The mission and goal of Mojo Lens, however, is to use this technology to help people who have severely impaired vision. The lens should be able to highlight important people or things or zoom in on objects to be of help. Only then would the lens be accessible to the public.
Sources
- Mojo Vision’s Augmented Reality Contact Lenses Kick off a Race to AR on Your Eye, Jason Dornier (17.1.2020), https://singularityhub.com/2020/01/17/mojo-visions-augmented-reality-contact-lenses-kick-off-a-race-to-ar-in-your-eye/
- Mojo Lens The World’s First True Smart Contact Lens, Mojo Lens (2021), https://www.mojo.vision/mojo-lens
- The making of Mojo, AR contact lenses that give your eyes superpowers, Mark Sullivan (16.1.2020), https://www.fastcompany.com/90441928/the-making-of-mojo-ar-contact-lenses-that-give-your-eyes-superpowers
