It’s been two years since I held a tiny contact lens with a display up to my eye. Mojo Vision’s technology, which is still aiming toward a self-contained and Food and Drug Administration-approved testable prototype, promises a HUD you can wear without glasses, its own motion sensor and Equipped with processor.
While the company’s original focus for contact lenses was on helping people with visual impairments, which remains Mojo Vision’s long-term goal, the company’s latest partnerships with several fitness and sports companies explore how and if the lenses should be worn by eye. Can serve as a fitness readout.
Mojo Vision is working with companies that cover running (Adidas), hiking and cycling (Trailforks), yoga (Wearable X), snow sports (slopes) and golf (18birdies).
According to Steve Sinclair, Mojo Vision’s senior vice president of product and marketing, the partnership is trying to determine what would be the best interface, and whether the market in fitness and sports training would be a good fit.
Mojo Vision’s announcement relies on survey results collected from more than 1,300 sports enthusiasts, showing that athletes use wearables for data collection (not surprisingly) and would benefit from improved data access .
The survey said 50% wanted real-time data (again, not surprising given the current fitness tracker market). Partnerships are more geared towards exploring possibilities rather than keeping any sort of fixed solution in mind.
There are already several heads-up displays for sport use, including ski and swim goggles. It’s unclear if wearable contact lenses with displays would be helpful as opposed to distracting.
It’s also unclear whether the eye movement-based controls of the Mojo Vision’s lens interface will be used, or if the display readout for things like heart rate will remain constant. Or, would you rather just look at your watch? In a discussion over video chat, Sinclair suggested that a lot of the possibilities would be focused on training and not during the live event.
After all, with fitness watches the idea of wearable displays and glasses serving as connected readouts seems inevitable. Whether or not it feels safe to use contact lenses depends on how easy the Mojo Vision lenses are to wear and read.
We don’t know the answer yet, but the overlap between smart glasses and fitness trackers is likely only beginning.
The US Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that five different Brut and Sure deodorant and antiperspirant sprays have been recalled due to the risk of the presence of benzene when using the sprays.
“While benzene is not an ingredient in any of the recalled products, our review revealed that unexpected levels of benzene came from the propellant that sprayed the product,” the FDA said in a press release.
Benzene, a human carcinogen, can cause cancers including leukemia and blood cancers of the bone marrow. It can also cause blood disorders.
According to the CDC, breathing in high levels of benzene can cause dizziness, drowsiness, fast or irregular heartbeat, and other symptoms such as headache and confusion. Direct contact with skin and eyes may cause irritation.
No injuries or adverse effects have been reported from using Brute or Sure Aerosols with the voluntary recall, the FDA said.
Affected products include Brut Classic Antiperspirant Aerosol 4oz and 6oz, Brut Classic Deodorant Aerosol 10oz, Sure Regular Antiperspirant Aerosol 6oz and Sure Unscented Antiperspirant Aerosol 6oz – all with expiration dates on or before August 2023. The products were sold in the US and Canada. ,
The FDA has advised people to stop using them immediately and to throw away the cans.