Augmented reality contact lens puts a tiny screen directly in your eye
A Silicon Valley start-up has created augmented reality contact lenses that can display a slew of information -such as the time, directions and even the speed you are travelling- directly to your eyes.
MojoVision, which has raised more than $100m, said the 'Mojo Lens' contact lenses are operated by eye movements.
For instance, a user wearing two lenses can "click" by concentrating on an icon - to launch a music player, for example - and turn off by looking away or blinking.
"Mojo has a vision for invisible computing where you have the information you want when you want it and are not bombarded or distracted by data when you don't," said chief executive Drew Perkins.
In a demonstration at consumer tech show CES, the company showed how the contact lens could enable users to see a virtual teleprompter that appeared floating in the field of vision by projecting a micro-LED display to the retina.
The functions are operated via a 'home screen', a green ring of applications that can be launched by focusing on the app you want and turned off by looking away.
While the prototype at CES could not be worn and the applications demoed included weather conditions and commuting times, Mojo has also outlined its vision for a range of advanced functions.
For instance, users could use the virtual overlay to recall the name and vital details of someone they meet at a party.
They could also use it to include subtitles when listening to a foreign language or get step-by-step guides to replacing machine parts.
The team are aiming for the battery life of the Mojo Lens to last around 25 hours, with the lens using wireless recharging while placed in its cleaning solution.
Mojo said it had no timetable for a commercial launch - the prototype was operated by an external battery, for instance.
But it has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration as a "breakthrough" device to test the contact lens to help people with visual impairments such as macular degeneration or retinitis pigmentosa.
"These are people who are underserved by technology today," said Steve Sinclair, senior vice president of the startup based in Saratoga, California.
The company said the contact lens is designed to provide overlays that augment sight for people with "low vision" and may assist in mobility, reading and other functions. It will also be able to offer night vision in low-light environments.
The company will be testing its vision-enhancing applications with the Vista Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Palo Alto, California.
Mojo has raised $108 million since it was founded in 2015 and has executives with experience at Google, Apple and other Silicon Valley firms, with opticians and ophthalmologists also working on the project.
The contact lens aims to enable people to move away from physical devices and interact more naturally with technology. It also could have business applications, allowing workers or specialists access to real-time information in their field of vision without a bulky headset.
A challenge has been to pack into the lens the complex circuitry, image sensor, wireless radio and battery needed for the wearable device. But should those hurdles be overcome, smart contact lenses could make a significant breakthrough in the realm of augmented vision.
'Smartglasses' such as Google Glass, which launched in 2012, have failed to find mainstream success thus far, in part due to their bulky and anti-social appearance. Connected contacts may not have the same problem, though concerns over privacy are likely to remain.
