AR could finally arrive thanks to smart contacts

Augmented reality has had a rough take off – perhaps not a surprise for a technology launched into the public consciousness by Google with skydivers. Almost a decade ago, Google Glass was unveiled at the company’s I/O conference by people leaping out of a plane wearing the smart glasses and landing at the Moscone conference hall.

Despite the flashy entrance, Google Glass stalled, held back by privacy concerns and a failure to meet user expectations; rather than letting us view the world with a snazzy sci-fi overlay of information, Glass was like trying to read Twitter from a TV on the other side of the room. Other AR headsets followed, from Microsoft’s HoloLens to Magic Leap. And none found real success in the consumer market, though Glass and HoloLens are quietly being useful in medical and enterprise settings (see box, p128).

Now a set of smart contact firms), while InWith is a soft lens, the type more commonly worn by most people for corrective vision.