XPANCEO smart contact lenses hands-on: AR prototypes from the future
At AWE, XPANCEO, a Dubai-based company working on smart contact lenses, showcased a few interesting prototypes of its futuristic technology. I was able to even put my eyes close to one of them and I want to tell you everything about this experience!
If you’re not new to this space, you will surely remember Mojo Vision, an incredible company based in the US that was working on smart contact lenses. Unluckily, after having reached incredible milestones, like having their CEO putting a smart lens inside his eyes, the company pivoted to manufacturing microdisplays.
The dream of having smart contact lenses seemed to vanish, but a new startup called XPANCEO came to the rescue. Based in Dubai, it was founded by two Eastern European guys: Roman Axelrod, a serial entrepreneur, and Valentyn S Volkov, a renowned scientist. Together they joined forces with the mission of creating smart and AR contact lenses.
I interviewed the founders of XPANCEO a few months ago, and they gave me a virtual tour of their laboratory in Dubai. From my remote tour, I had the impression that these guys seriously have the skills to be able to deliver what they have in mind. Differently than Mojo, though, they don’t have a clear roadmap in mind, yet. They are experimenting with different approaches to this hard problem, creating many different prototypes until they understand which is the best way to fulfill their vision. XPANCEO claims to be on track to unveil a fully functional smart contact lens prototype by the end of 2026.
