This smart contact lens gives you an Iron Man-style heads-up display

Silicon Valley startup  Mojo Vision is working on a smart contact lens which can help users see in the dark, combat sight loss and provide a heads-up display for daily activities. 

Mojo Vision’s ultimate goal with the project is to provide the sort of futuristic heads-up display we’ve seen in films. It wouldn’t be active all the time, rather, when information is needed it would appear in your eye-line. So, for much of the time, there would be no noticeable difference for the wearer in actually having the lens in their eye. Mojo call this “invisible computing”.

The AR lens is apparently still years away from being a consumer product but the possibilities are already exciting. Night vision, medical uses and generally feeling like Tony Stark are all among the biggest selling points.

Mojo had a presence at CES despite not being an official part of the show. The company’s smart contact lens is very much still in the development stage, but some selected hands-on experiences were offered.

CNET reported on their chance to get hands-on with the lens in a Vegas hotel suite, but were not allowed to wear the product ‘in-eye’, instead holding it on a small stick. Seemingly though, the product can already be worn in-eye, with some Mojo staff reportedly already doing so.

In medical terms, this lens could be a huge step forward for people with visual impairments. The device could potentially counter conditions like macular degeneration and has already been designated by the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration,) as a “Breakthrough Device”.

Visually, the lens looks just like a normal contact lens, with a tiny green circle in the middle. This circle effectively covers your pupil and presents the images you see while wearing the lens.

We have contacted Mojo Vision for comment and hope to be able to offer more updates on the smart lens project soon.