Mojo Vision: Adidas tests AR contact lens for fitness data
AR contact lens start-up Mojo Vision wants to tap into the fitness market and finds an interesting partner in Adidas, among others.
Tech start-up Mojo Vision has been researching an AR contact lens for almost a decade. The current prototype Mojo Lens already has plenty of technology miniaturized into a petite space, including a MicroLED display, an image sensor, motion sensors for gaze detection, a battery system, an ARM0 processor and a 5-GHz wireless transmission for communication with an external unit.
Mojo Vision's achievement lies particularly in the miniaturization of the components necessary for a tech contact lens. | Image: Mojo Vision
The prototype is functional and can already be worn in the eye. Interactive content can be activated, for example, by selecting it via gaze. The lens is currently being developed primarily for the medical market. It could help people with visual impairments, for example, by providing visual edge sharpening.
Mojo Vision is thinking outside the box
But Mojo Vision is also preparing for a market launch in the commercial sector. Disney recently showed possible application scenarios, for example as a navigation aid in theme parks or as a virtual teleprompter for newscasters.
Various data that Mojo could display on the display contact lens in a sports context. The company determined them with a survey among more than 1300 hobby athletes. | Picture: Mojo vision
At CES 2021, Mojo Vision has now announced further commercial collaborations in the fitness sector: The start-up is working with Adidas (running), Trailforks (hiking and cycling), Wearable X (yoga), Slopes (winter sports) and 18 Birdies (golf). The goal of the partnerships is to find meaningful interfaces and use cases for each area.
Mojo Lens is still in an early development phase
It will probably be years before Mojo Lens launches commercially. On the one hand, because the development is still in an early phase. On the other hand, the tech lens needs the green light from international health authorities for its first planned medical launch. Mojo hopes to start regular sales before the end of this decade.
At least, development seems to be going according to plan: At the end of August 2021, Mojo Vision released an uncritical toxicology test for the prototype and reported that it's "feature complete". In late 2020, Mojo Vision found a production partner in Menicon, Japan's largest contact lens manufacturer. Investors have put around $160 million into the company so far.
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