Mojo Vision CEO Says “He Saw the Future” Wearing Company’s Prototype AR Contact Lens

Mojo Vision’s dreams of bringing what it calls "invisible computing" to the public appears to be a step closer to becoming a reality.

Credit: Mojo Vision

The California-based startup’s CEO Drew Perkins recently had the chance to try a prototype of the Mojo Lens, the world’s first augmented reality (AR) smart contact lens, and he says "he saw the future". "Wearing the lens was inspiring," writes Perkins in a blog on the company's website. “Seeing the future literally put me at a loss for words.”

“As I wore the lens and thought about the different components and subsystems contained within, I was reminded that every one of our development teams achieved great success within their own disciplines,” he adds.

The Mojo Lens enables wearers to see AR-based interfaces thanks to an embedded 14,000 pixel-per-inch MicroLED display, which measures less than 0.5mm in diameter with a pixel-pitch of 1.8 microns. The company touts that the display is the world’s smallest and densest ever for dynamic content.

The device additionally comes equipped with a 5GHz radio and ARM Core M0 processor to transmit data off the lens and stream content on the display.

It also includes a custom-configured accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer to track the wearer’s natural eye movements. This is particularly important because the device runs a special eye-based interface that’s controlled by movements of the eye, not hand or gesture-based motions.

Powering it, meanwhile, is a proprietary system that features medical-grade micro-batteries and an integrated circuit. Ensuring the device received power and radio signals without needing to be tethered was said to be the final technical hurdle in development. Once they were able to achieve this, it minimised some of the other challenges of developing a device of this nature.

Credit: Mojo Vision

Perkins notes he experienced firsthand what "invisible computing" had to offer during his demo, having been able to use a compass, view images and read through a teleprompter right from the contact lens itself. He says he sees the Mojo Lens helping individuals with vision impairment perform daily tasks. He also sees amateur and professional athletes alike using the device to train smarter.

"Ultimately, this is a tool that can give people an invisible assistant throughout their day to stay focused without losing access to the information they need to feel confident in any situation."

Mojo Vision looks to allow others to try the the Mojo Lens as it opens a testing platform that will help it refine the device further before it gets sent to the FDA for market approval. The company also plans to conduct clinical studies to get feedback on the software and apps.

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• Mojo Vision's CEO Drew Perkins recently had the chance to try a prototype of the Mojo Lens, the world’s first augmented reality (AR) smart contact lens, and he says "he saw the future".

• The device enables wearers to see AR-based interfaces thanks to an embedded 14,000 pixel-per-inch MicroLED display, which the company touts is the smallest and densest display for dynamic content ever.

• It also has eye-tracking capabilities, with the software operating on eye-movements, not hand or gesture-based motions.

• Perkins says he was able to use a compass, view images and read through a teleprompter right from the contact lens itself during his demo.