Since we have discussed about smart devices several times in the past, all of us would be aware of how influential these devices are in our lives. That being said, not all smart devices have equal market share. Some of course are more used than others. For example, smartphones are comfortably the most used smart device and continually outsells other smart devices for obvious reasons such as practicality, feature set, etc. On the other hand, smart glasses which seemed futuristic and impressive at the time, sadly fizzled out and became a part of the failed innovation category. This was mainly due to social reasons, as the people were not ready to wear chunky eye gear on a regular basis. But a small start up from silicon valley decided to change the situation and bring back smart glasses in a different avatar. The team at Mojo Vision dedicated their resources to building the world’s first smart contact lenses.

The company basically wanted to put a screen right against your eye in order to enhance your vision of the world. Mojo Vision’s ultimate vision is to enable this lens with the capability to assist people with low vision by displaying enhanced overlays of the world, sharpening details, or zooming in to help them see. 

Recently, the company even displayed a prototype at CES 2020 that had a green monochromatic display wired to a large battery. The tech part of the device is built into the scleral lens that has a bulbous portion which sits a little above the eye. The company claimed that the device is capable of displaying content with a ppi of 14000 which is way above current standards. They also said that it included an image sensor, radio, and a motion sensor to help overlay and stabilize images. 

Since this was only a prototype, it did not have the full set of functionalities that the company was aiming for. The device works when held close to the eye, but its capabilities beyond that are unknown as reviewers weren’t allowed to insert it into their eyes. Moreover, it could only run with the help of an external battery and processor, and also comes with the added complexity of having disinfect them every night for frequent usage. 

Even with such a long list of shortcomings, the device still showcased some impressive features during its demo. When was placed over a person’s eye, the contact lenses could help them see in the dark and was even effective when it was tested out by people who had weak vision. It could do this thanks to an advanced edge detection algorithm that is used to detect objects in a room and understand other spatial features of the surrounding environment. 

The company has already raised a massive $100 million in funding for building its tech. So although the technology is still in its infancy, with the amount and quality of resources the company has, there is no doubt that the team at Mojo Vision will eventually achieve their ultimate goal. If everything goes according to the company’s plan, we may soon have a google glass like contact lens that has all its functionalities but none of the social stigma that surrounds the usage of such chunky, odd looking wearable devices.