AR viewers are just born (Apple is still “in utero”), and are already at risk of extinction: contact lenses are about to place augmented reality displays directly in the eye. Remember Mojo Vision? Just before Covid (January 2020, we talked about it here) presented the very first prototype of his device. Today the same CEO of Mojo Vision Drew Perkins volunteered to try the first working version.
A possible (not certain) and remote (not near) future could contemplate tiny devices implanted in our body and capable of transmitting images directly to the visual cortex. Until then, the smallest form factor we can imagine is contact lenses. And Mojo is the closest company to making it a reality.
Mojo Vision, displays in contact lenses lead the way
In its seventh year of development, Mojo has managed to pack an incredible amount of stuff into the tiny space of a pair of contact lenses. For starters, they have the smallest and densest display in the world capable of showing dynamic content: a “large” green monochrome MicroLED less than 0,5 mm (0,02 inches) in diameter, with a resolution of 14.000 pixels per inch. They have an ARM Core M0 processor, a 5 GHz radio capable of communicating at very low latency.
What else? Accelerometers, gyroscopes and magnetometers to track eye movements with extreme precision, and always keeping the image projected in front of the eye stable. They have a medical-grade micro-battery, large enough to run all day (in the final version) and a wireless charging system.
No voice commands, smartphones or anything else will be needed: to use Mojo Vision contact lenses, all you need is your hands, traced through eye movements.
Incredible, but I see
Mark the date: on June 23 at the Mojo Vision laboratories in California, a man wore contact lenses for the first time in the world. augmented reality. He is the CEO of the company, as mentioned, and he commented in a rather laconic way.
After completing preclinical testing and mitigating potential safety risks, I put on the Mojo Lens. To my delight, I discovered that I could interact with a compass to find my direction, view images, and use an on-screen teleprompter to read a quote. I experienced firsthand the future with Invisible Computing… it was inspiring. Seeing the future literally took my words away.
Drew Perkins on the company blog
Now what?
Mojo Vision will have more and more people testing the contact lenses until the market version will require approval from the US FDA. And in the meantime, study all the possible apps to use to enhance the functions of this device.
How many could there be? So many. A navigator always "on sight". The ability to read without having a teleprompter in front of you. An assistant that is always active and invisible to others, to obtain information without being tied to monitors or smartphone displays. A thousand other possible applications, including those that will improve the daily activities of many visually impaired people.
Of course, I don't think it will be ready within a year, maybe not even two. But somewhere between 2025 and 2030 we could find something that can give a lot of trouble to current devices.
And new problems for human beings.
