AR Contact Lenses Have Been Worn By A Human For The First Time
It feels like just yesterday we were being warned about how staring at a screen for too long can make our eyes weary and tired. Now, the screen is being attached directly to our eyes. A landmark trial concluded by invisible computing company Mojo Vision saw the first human to have tested augmented-reality contact lenses.
CEO Drew Perkins was the test subject in the experiment, and he took to the company’s blog to share his experience. He notes having been able to see images, view a compass, and read from a teleprompter on the lens.
The lens itself is a mere 0.5 mm in diameter and manages to pack a lot in such a small and thin space. It has a 14,000 pixel-per-inch MicroLED display, and the distance between each pixel—or the pixel pitch—is 1.8 microns. To power the little device, a medical-grade micro battery is used. It charges wirelessly, just in case you were afraid of having an open port in your eye.
Recently, the world changed a little bit when Drew Perkins wore the first feature-complete #MojoLens prototype on eye. What did he see? What’s inside the lens? What does this mean for the future of devices? Watch this 2min video to find out: https://t.co/QOZ0xTwyfC #smartcontacts pic.twitter.com/ktkMn1sRIU
— Mojo Vision (@MojoVisionInc) July 6, 2022
The micro screen operates with the tracking of eye movements. To switch between content being viewed, an accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer track your eyes to detect which commands you are trying to send to the lens. It also stabilizes the image as your eyes move around.
In the blog post, Perkins states that people with vision impairment and athletes are the main two groups the company is looking at aiming these lenses at. Though it most likely will be made for general consumption, Perkins also states that the lenses are to be used as an “assistant” throughout the day that prompts focus and provides access to information.
The lenses and Perkins both had to sit through clinical trials before the experiment was conducted. With that, there is no word on when we can head down to our local tech shop and purchase one of these for ourselves, as it has only ever been tested on one person as of now. Until then we will just have to keep an eye out for its release.
[via Big Think and Interesting Engineering, cover image via Mojo Vision]
