Jarheads work almost 50 percent faster wearing heads-up display goggles that replace technical manuals
Posted 10.26.2009 at 2:26 pm
2 Comments
AR Goggles Seeing the world differently through augmented reality, and becoming more efficient to boot
Steven Feiner and Steven Henderson
New augmented reality goggles are helping Marine mechanics perform maintenance on vehicles in about half the usual time. The futuristic headgear displays precise instructions on top of real-world settings, and shows how to complete certain tasks, such as wiring up an ignition coil.
Similar augmented reality (AR) devices have already helped astronauts carry out repairs on the International Space Station, and could aid civilians tinkering with their BMWs in the home garage. But the new goggles developed by Columbia University researchers provide solid proof of how the devices can improve human performance.
Related Articles
 | Augmented Reality Headsets to Help ISS Astronauts |
 | BMW Augmented Reality Glasses Help Average Joes Make Repairs |
 | Invention Awards: The World as a Web Interface |
Tags
Technology, Jeremy Hsu, ar, augmented reality, goggles, heads-up display, HUD, marines, mechanics, military, USMCA test with six Marine mechanics found that they performed up to 46 percent faster on making repairs to a light armored vehicle when using the AR goggles, according to Technology Review. The jarheads typically rely upon technical manuals displayed on laptops.
Besides the heads-up display, the AR system uses text instructions, floating labels, arrows and even 3-D models of tools needed for various tasks. An Android smartphone provides the wrist interface for cueing up new instructions.
We're looking forward to seeing this and other AR devices seep into both military and civilian life in ever greater numbers. An MIT augmented reality device previously won one of PopSci's Inventions Awards, showing the possibilities of interfacing online information with the real world. Some PopSci readers may also remember our July issue, which allowed people with webcams to play with virtual wind turbines popping off the magazine cover.
[via Technology Review]
2 Comments
To comment, please Login.
Popular Tags
Technology
138 years of Popular Science at your fingertips.
Innovation Challenges
Popular Science+ For iPad
Each issue has been completely reimagined for your iPad. See our amazing new vision for magazines that goes far beyond the printed page
Download Our App
Stay up to date on the latest news of the future of science and technology from your iPhone or Android phone with full articles, images and offline viewing
Follow Us On Twitter
Featuring every article from the magazine and website, plus links from around the Web. Also see our PopSci DIY feed
.jpg)
February 2012: The Future of Fun
Science is reinventing play, from extreme sports to gamification to ridiculous roller coasters to the playgrounds of tomorrow, and this issue is chock full of fun. Also, on a less fun note: Did global warming destroy my hometown?
Popular on Popsci
Most Viewed
Technology
- The PopSci Flash Arcade
- Using Heat to Record Information Could Improve Data Storage Speed a Hundred-Fold
- Pretty Space Pics: The Carina Nebula 'Dramatically' Captured in Infrared
- Video: President Obama Test-Fires a Marshmallow Cannon at the White House Science Fair
- UK Report Suggests Soldiers Could One Day Plug Their Weapons Right Into Their Brains
- iRobot's 710 Warrior, Strong Enough to Tow a Car, is Finally Ready for the Field
- Attempt at the World's Highest Skydive, from 120,000 Feet, is Rescheduled for August
- Minecraft: Making Your Own Fun, One Brick At a Time
- Drones Will Be Admitted to Standard US Airspace By 2015
- Play the PopSci Tourist-Or-Local Game
Most Emailed
Technology
- Using Heat to Record Information Could Improve Data Storage Speed a Hundred-Fold
- Pretty Space Pics: The Carina Nebula 'Dramatically' Captured in Infrared
- Video: President Obama Test-Fires a Marshmallow Cannon at the White House Science Fair
- UK Report Suggests Soldiers Could One Day Plug Their Weapons Right Into Their Brains
- iRobot's 710 Warrior, Strong Enough to Tow a Car, is Finally Ready for the Field
- Attempt at the World's Highest Skydive, from 120,000 Feet, is Rescheduled for August
- Minecraft: Making Your Own Fun, One Brick At a Time
- Drones Will Be Admitted to Standard US Airspace By 2015
- Play the PopSci Tourist-Or-Local Game
- This Cuddly Phase-Change Robot Will Keep You Warm at Night
Most Commented
Technology
- Video: A New 'Smart Bullet' Deploys Fins and Guides Itself to a Laser-Designated Target
- Mitt Romney: The Uncanny Candidate?
- Translucent Blue Spheres Rain Down in the UK, Mystifying Meteorologists
- Judge Rules Americans Can Be Forced to Decrypt Personal Data — What Does That Mean For You?
- Video: PopSci's Favorite Japanese Fembot Gets a Modeling Job at the Mall
- The World's First 3-D, Free-Standing Invisibility Cloak Conceals from All Angles
- DARPA Invests In Megapixel Augmented-Reality Contact Lenses
- Video: People Flying, Superhero Style, Over New York City
- Video: SpaceX Test-Fires Its New Super-Powerful Capsule Engines
- Video: Eight Years After Martian Touchdown, Opportunity Rover Soldiers On
Today on PopSci.com
Copyright © 2009 Popular Science
A Bonnier Corporation Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
Awesome, now when is the Navy getting this new toy?
Proud Sailor of the USN
A large amount of this improvement is due to the generation of information not available today. In this case, multiple camera scans were made, and sophisticated instrucional scenes were developed.
Yes, the tech enables good presentation, but developing the information is a large effort that's not discussed.
Also not discussed is where this might be used. The military uses mainly hand tools in a lot of applications because they're rugged and extremely portable. Maintenance instuctions are similar -- tech orders are cheap to duplicate, and essential ones are packaged in tough portable bindings.
I worked on aircraft electronics. As much as possible, the components were made to be easily replaceable in the field.
Shop repair was similar in that most items had some type of modular construction. Units requiring sophisticated repair were shipped to centralized depot facilities.
Perhaps this system could be useful in a depot like environment. The military spends a lot of effort to make field maintenance straightforward and simple.