A method and apparatus for contactless measurement of the characteristics of patients' eyes and eyewear without using any reference device for scaling measurements. The non-contact system comprises of a measurement device having an array of proximity sensors for contactless distance measurement, which is embracing a mobile device having a digital camera, a processor, gyroscope or 3-axis accelerometer sensors, and wireless transceivers. The wireless transceivers support fast and real-time communication between the mobile device and the measurement device. The mobile device is configured to obtain information of distance between the patient face the measurement device at the same time as the digital camera is capturing images of the patient. Such distances assist the processor of the mobile device to re-construct actual eye and eyewear characteristics from the captured image of the digital camera. The built-in gyroscope sensors may be used to correct errors caused by inadequate orientation of the patient's face and/or the mobile device. The method thus enables fast, accurate and reference less measurement, and reduces the responsibilities of users.