The military has been experimenting augmented reality for a while, but a new project called ARMAR, Augmented Reality for for Maintenance and Repair, from Columbia University shows some great potential at reducing routine mantenance time.
ARMAR is the project of Prof. Steven Feiner and his student Steve Henderson at Columbia University. In the Marine Corps tests, the pair of researchers used 10 cameras in the vehicle to track three IR lights on the head mounted display (HMD). This tracking allows ARMAR to lead users to the target area and demonstrate the appropriate repairs needed in the current field of vision. ARMAR improved the efficiency of repairs when compared to an untracked HMD (56% faster) and a stationary LCD screen (47% faster) which provided similar information. The ARMAR team is looking to improve future models of the device by incorporating the viewing cameras onto the HMD, allowing it to function autonomously and with less setup.
The results of their experiment have been published by the IEEE, and also implements an interaction system called ‘Opportunistic Tangible Interfaces’.
See some videos of the system after the break.
via Augmented Reality To Help Military Mechanics Fix Vehicles (Video) | Singularity Hub.
