Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) headsets are innovative and amazing but can be impractical at times. They can be uncomfortable, bulky, and possibly unsuitable to certain work environments. MojoVision’s solution to the problem of headsets is to eliminate them entirely and create the world’s first AR contact lenses. They call this invention MojoLens.
MojoVision, the company that created MojoLens, was founded by Drew Perkins in 2015. Drew and the MojoVision team are continuing to work on improving and enhancing their technology. All their lenses are designed as scleral lenses. This means the lens sits on the white part of your eye and is custom fit to maximize comfort and oxygen flow. The lenses also have biosafe batteries, motion sensors, image sensors, and the smallest MicroLED display to ever be made at less than half a millimeter in diameter (that is smaller than a grain of sand!). This tiny display is what projects crisp and clear images directly onto your retina. If that is not enough already, the lenses also have eye tracking done in under 10 milliseconds. This is the best that eye tracking can get because it is receiving information directly from the eye. MojoLens started off as a mere concept but over the years the company has grown to do what has never been done before.
MojoLens is an extremely new technology so many questions arise about its safety. After all, you do have to put the product directly onto your eye. To summarize the answer to the question of safety: Yes, MojoLens is safe. Before MojoVision could create their lenses they needed Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval like any regular contact lens. The FDA also approved their lenses as an FDA Breakthrough Device. This means that it is an approved medical treatment that helps MojoVision to speed up the creation process. FDA approval is important but so is clear vision. The MojoLens is designed to not disrupt your vision. The MicroLED mentioned earlier is so small and close to your eye that your eyes simply ‘look around it.’ MojoVision’s goal was to create a device that does not distract and instead elevates your vision. It is designed to disappear when it is not needed. This is a major benefit of lenses over a headset. The lenses can be used sporadically without the hassle of taking a headset on and off.
Why does this matter?
MojoLens is the first in its field. There is no competition for AR contact lenses right now which means their product could very well change the way XR functions in the future. These lenses are already FDA-approved for medical use for people with vision impairment, but this is only the beginning. MojoLens could do countless other things such as to give first responders vital patient information, provide real-time translations, and even bring wayfinding to a new level. These contact lenses are essentially an ‘invisible’ version of every VR, AR, and Mixed Reality (MR) device currently available. It is the invisible quality that sets a new standard for Extended Reality (XR).
From all of this, we can understand that contact lenses are a viable option for where XR is heading. It is still new technology yet to be released to the general public; however, the appeal of an XR device without the headset barrier is intriguing. It will be interesting to see if in the future bigger companies, such as Oculus and HoloLens, will invest in something like this or even create their own competitive products. It seems highly likely that AR contact lenses will become a major part of the industry and will revolutionize the way we think about XR.
