Eyes on the Future

American company, Mojo Vision is working on a smart contact lens that tracks eye movements.

Silicon Valley startup Mojo Vision has produced a new prototype of their smart contact lens.

The lens allows users to control a 0.5 millimeter wide MicroLED display with their eye movements. Unlike other eye-tracking devices and software, these lenses follow eye movement by sitting directly on the user’s eye. This device allows for increased accuracy in tracking. For now, the device requires additional hardware to maintain power-efficiency than what can be achieved with traditional Bluetooth, but Mojo plans to improve their battery range to be able to pair with smartphones in the future. The lenses are still awaiting approval for use from the FDA, so demonstrations are carried out by looking through the lens on a stick in front of the user's eye.

Mojo Vision's contact lenses aim to make augmented reality a seamless part of consumers' lives, letting them control a device with a flutter of their eyes. As a futuristic concept, these contacts build on tech wearables that consumers have already embraced, such as watches and apps to help with sports and fitness training. These smart contacts have a wide range of other anticipated uses, from entertainment to health management. Eyeglass wearers and prescription contact wearers can benefit from the corrective aspect of lenses, but everyday wearers will be able to use the discreet lenses to assist them with day-to-day tasks.