Another sci-fi vision set to become reality:
A sci-fi vision is coming into focus. On Tuesday, startup Mojo Vision detailed its progress on a tiny AR display it embeds in contact lenses, providing a digital layer of information superimposed on what you see in the real world.
The Mojo Lens centerpiece is a hexagonal display less than half a millimeter wide, with each greenish pixel just a quarter of the width of a red blood cell. A "femtoprojector" -- a tiny magnification system -- expands the imagery optically and beams it to a central patch of the retina.
The lenses are ringed with electronics, including a camera that captures the outside world. A computer chip processes the imagery, controls the display and communicates wirelessly to external devices like a phone. A motion tracker that compensates for your eye's movement. The device is powered by a battery that's charged wirelessly overnight, like a smartwatch.
"We have got this almost working. It's very, very close," said Chief Technology Officer Mike Wiemer, detailing the design at the Hot Chips processor conference. Prototypes have passed toxicology tests, and Mojo expects a fully featured prototype this year.
Mojo's plan is to leapfrog clunky headwear, like Microsoft's Hololens, that have begun incorporating AR. If it succeeds, Mojo Lens could help people with vision problems, for example by outlining letters in text or making curb edges more apparent. The product also could help athletes see how far they've biked or how fast their heart is beating without checking other devices.
AR, short for augmented reality, is a powerful technology that injects computing smarts into eyeglasses, smartphones and other devices. The technology adds a layer of information onto real world images, for example, showing a backhoe operator where cables are buried. So far, however, AR has been mostly limited to amusements like showing a movie character on a phone screen view of the real world.
© Provided by CNET The Mojo Lens design for AR contact lenses includes a ring of electronics including a tiny camera, display, processor, eye tracker, wireless charger, and radio link to the outside world. Mojo Vision
Mojo Vision has a long way to go before its lenses hit shelves. The device will have to pass muster with regulators and overcome social discomfort. An earlier attempt to include AR in eyeglasses from search giant Google, called Google Glass, foundered as people worried about what was being recorded and shared.
A sci-fi vision is coming into focus. On Tuesday, startup Mojo Vision detailed its progress on a tiny AR display it embeds in contact lenses, providing a digital layer of information superimposed on what you see in the real world.
The Mojo Lens centerpiece is a hexagonal display less than half a millimeter wide, with each greenish pixel just a quarter of the width of a red blood cell. A "femtoprojector" -- a tiny magnification system -- expands the imagery optically and beams it to a central patch of the retina.
The lenses are ringed with electronics, including a camera that captures the outside world. A computer chip processes the imagery, controls the display and communicates wirelessly to external devices like a phone. A motion tracker that compensates for your eye's movement. The device is powered by a battery that's charged wirelessly overnight, like a smartwatch.
"We have got this almost working. It's very, very close," said Chief Technology Officer Mike Wiemer, detailing the design at the Hot Chips processor conference. Prototypes have passed toxicology tests, and Mojo expects a fully featured prototype this year.
Mojo's plan is to leapfrog clunky headwear, like Microsoft's Hololens, that have begun incorporating AR. If it succeeds, Mojo Lens could help people with vision problems, for example by outlining letters in text or making curb edges more apparent. The product also could help athletes see how far they've biked or how fast their heart is beating without checking other devices.
AR, short for augmented reality, is a powerful technology that injects computing smarts into eyeglasses, smartphones and other devices. The technology adds a layer of information onto real world images, for example, showing a backhoe operator where cables are buried. So far, however, AR has been mostly limited to amusements like showing a movie character on a phone screen view of the real world.
Mojo Vision has a long way to go before its lenses hit shelves. The device will have to pass muster with regulators and overcome social discomfort. An earlier attempt to include AR in eyeglasses from search giant Google, called Google Glass, foundered as people worried about what was being recorded and shared.