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The

SMART

Wearable

MOJO LENS

Making Contact he increasing demand for to handle, for example, a white cane or
innovative consumer health guide dog. In addition, current large
By Shirley Ha, BSc. (Hons), O.D. solutions is driving the growth and often-unwieldy head-mounted
of wearable medical devices displays (Oculus, HTC Vive) and AR
Tbeyond smart watches, earbuds headsets (Hololens) that yell “cyborg
and glasses, and toward contact lenses. technology” or “glasshole” to observers
According to healthcare analysts at are no longer necessary and the wearer,
Market Research Future®, the smart armed with augmented data, can be
contact lens market is expected to reach more present and look, act and interact
“ This leaves the growth rate of 10.4 per cent by 2023. 1 confidence; hence, the lens name:
US$7.2 billion at a compound annual “normally” in their surroundings with
“Mojo”.
The latest contender in the race to
wearer almost
hands-free develop a smart contact lens is Mojo Unlike virtual reality (VR) headsets/
Vision from California, with their goggles, where the entire viewing
to handle, for augmented reality (AR) Mojo Lens, world is simulated, the AR Mojo Lens
designed to help people with low vision superimposes virtual elements onto a
example, a white caused by conditions such as macular person’s real-world scene to augment it.
degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, The contextual data that is streamed can
cane or guide glaucoma or retinitis pigmentosa. be the time of day, vital health details,
“ The company says their Mojo Lens is and/or translations with the names of
dog. such as heart rate, live closed captioning,
“invisible computing” with natural life people you’re talking to, navigation
integration because it can help replace maps and many other data feeds.
many assistive devices/aids, such as
GPS devices and Optical Character With its patented, pin-sized
Recognition (OCR)/money readers. femto-projector in the lens centre, the
This leaves the wearer almost hands-free MicroLED display is the smallest and

16 16 / SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2020 / www.ENVISIONMAGAZINE.ca /