Augmented Reality Contact Lenses will Empower Vision & Information

Augmented reality contact lenses will give information directly in your eyes.

The digital world around us is penetrating our lives and becoming our best friend. Earlier it was computers, which revolved around laptops and tablets, and now we have smartphones without which we cannot even start our day. Augmented reality is an innovation that added spice to this digital transformation. Today, AR is used in so many areas from education to gaming and even augmented reality glasses. But, what would be your reaction when you hear that we also have augmented reality contact lenses?

Mojo Vision is a California-based cutting-edge startup that leverages augmented reality to put information inside contact lenses, which implies that information is in your eyes. It has placed 14K pixels-per-inch microdisplays, image sensors, motion sensors, and wireless radios into contact lenses that properly fit into your eyes. These augmented reality lenses are powered wirelessly.

There is even a small external pack that provides power as well as takes care of sensor data and then ships information to the display.

InWith Corp. is also powering smart lenses. InWith Corp. integrates augmented reality vision display chips into the soft hydrogel contact lenses. In 2020, the company partnered with Bausch + Lomb to encourage flexible electronic circuitry that is directly integrated into lenses.

Mojo Vision calls its augmented reality contact lens technology the Invisible Computing as it will enable humans to take their eyes off from their smartphones as all information is directly in front of their eyes. Now this information, as of now, consists of text messages, navigation routes, presentation points of your meeting, or steps to tell how you can repair machinery.

This innovation is still in prototyping, but the company is planning to have an early application of augmented reality contact lenses for people facing low vision difficulties through enhanced image overlay. This experience is different from just wearing AR glasses because even if you close your eyes, you can still see the information.

Lately, the world has witnessed high-quality AR and VR headsets that led people to dispose of their costly gaming play stations. Who needs them when you have such immersive devices. However, it is still trying to advance and improve even if it's been a decade they are into the market.

Similarly, the augmented reality contact lenses of Mojo aren't a consumer product. Further, this technology is to be worn by eyes, so plenty of challenges will be there that will be higher than the ones faced by VR headsets.

One such challenge is that contact lenses are under the category of medical devices, it will need U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. Clinical trials will soon begin and the company will introduce a mainstream offering once it's properly validated by FDA and niche industry applications.

Moreover, smart contact lenses are not just for sharpening vision purposes. Since it comes under the medical devices category, it can be used to solve numerous medical conditions. Smart lenses have the ability to carry wireless chips and a miniaturized sensor that can monitor physiological metrics like intraocular pressure in glaucoma patients.

Apart from tech enthusiasts and the common man, there are some real-world applications of smart lenses. They have the capability to supplant body cameras so that security and police officers are safer. They can even improve military operations. Surgeons can make use of them to get a better vision of their patients along with information of patients directly in your eyes.

We will be in a future where augmented reality contact lenses will be a consumer product. Though, still in its infancy, AR contact lenses hold immense potential and promise to transform our lives. Look how artificial intelligence has come so far that now it is ubiquitous. Similarly, we will take a lot of time for such cutting-edge contact lenses to make a place in society apart from its real-world applications. The future is smart and AR contact lenses are one of the tech products that will power it.