An imaging device contained in a contact lens captures images of the external environment, which for convenience will be referred to as real-world images. These real-world images are used to stabilize images produced by a femtoprojector also in the contact lens. For convenience, the images produced by the femtoprojector will be referred to as augmented reality or AR images. The femtoprojector is inward-facing (i.e., facing towards the interior of the eye) and projects the AR images onto the user's retina, creating the appearance of virtual images in the external environment. The imaging device, referred to as a femtoimager for convenience, is outward-facing and captures a sequence of actual real-world images of the external environment. Because the femtoimager and femtoprojector move together, the real-world images captured by the femtoimager reflect the motion of the virtual AR images from the femtoprojector relative to the external environment.