Augmented Reality Milestone: Functional Contact Lenses

A New Milestone in Augmented Reality: Functional Contact Lenses

In early July 2022, a new milestone in AR technology was achieved and it highlights how far the field has come over the last few decades. The first authentic test of an augmented reality contact lens took place. It happened in a research lab at Mojo Vision in Saratoga, California, and it was an authentic test of an AR contact lens worn directly on the eye of a real person for the very first time.

The ability to put a high-resolution display on a tiny transparent lens is a daunting prospect. The harder part is that the tiny lens has to communicate wirelessly with external devices and be fully powered without a physical tether of any kind. This is very challenging, and yet it’s what Mojo Vision achieved in their latest demonstration.

I’m sure there’s a long road ahead to get from today’s prototypes to widespread deployment of low-cost contacts that bring immersive AR capabilities to people around the world, but I firmly believe this is where the industry is headed. In fact, I predict that AR eyewear will replace the mobile phone as our primary interface to digital content within 10 years.

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