A new strategy could have law enforcement personnel in the Netherlands wearing high tech devices.

Law enforcement in the Netherlands are looking to a new high tech police augmented reality system to help them to fight crime. The Dutch national police has been collaborating with several other organizations in this effort. It may mean that they one day use the Microsoft Hololens during a regular day.

The Dutch police have identified a string of different ways in which augmented reality could help them.

The police augmented reality project is the result of a collaboration among the national police force, the national fire brigade, the Dutch Forensic Institute, Delft University of Technology, and Twnkls, an AR development firm.

Chief Inspector Rob Kouwenhoven spoke in an interview with a Dutch newspaper explaining that there are many scenarios in which augmented reality technology could be very helpful.

The police augmented reality technology is still in somewhat of a prototype phase as it is tested.

At the moment, the AR tech being tested out involves the use of a smartphone camera attached to the shoulder of the user. It also requires another device to be strapped to the wrist. That gadget can be used for taking notes about a crime scene or for marking evidence.

The national police force is currently looking into whether or not it will be possible to test the Hololens augmented reality device. That Microsoft gadget may be able to provide an overlay of relevant information to wearers conducting a forensic investigation. This has the potential to simplify the investigation process and bring a crime’s various puzzle pieces together.

Kouwenhover pointed out that this AR tech could also be helpful within the courtroom. It could be used to reconstruct the scene of a crime in a much clearer and more visual way. At the moment, this effort requires a physical reenactment of the event in combination with a great deal of paperwork.

By using police augmented reality, a judge would be able to more clearly and realistically see what happened during the event. It could include the display of pieces of evidence and illustrated with digital animations and annotations overlaid on top of the crime scene imagery. Should things go as planned, the tech could be launched for police use in 5 years.

The coffee chain giant will now be accepting WeChat smartphone transactions to pay for purchases.

The Starbucks QR code based payments are now being accepted in Chinese locations. The coffee chain announced that WeChat users will now be able to pay for their food and beverage purchases with the mobile app’s Weixin Pay.

The initial introduction of the QR codes will include around 2,500 of the company’s Chinese cafes.

To use the Starbucks QR code, customers must simply scan the code at the checkout counter. This is completed through Weixin Pay. The mobile payments technology makes it possible to carry out the entire transaction over the smartphone.

Customers will be using mobile payments at Starbucks as a result of a new agreement between the café and Tencent Holidings Ltd. This makes the coffee chain only the latest fast food company to offer Chinese consumers a mobile wallet payment option.

The Starbucks QR code has already proven to be very popular in other countries including the United States.

In China, mobile payments are becoming increasingly commonplace. Disney, KFC and Uniqlo already offer m-payment opportunities in their Chinese locations.

At the moment, there are approximately 200 million Chinese consumers using Weixin Pay and Alipay – Weixin’s rival owned by Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd. Consumers have embraced the technology due to the checkout speed it offers in-store.

That said, as popular as mobile payments are becoming in China, many foreign retailers are hesitant to introduce them. The main worry is regarding a customer privacy breach through the data collected during the transaction.

According to China Market Research Group managing director Shaun Rein, “Accepting mobile payment would unlock massive value for Starbucks.” He also added that “Since they couldn’t move customers through the line faster, they were losing 5 to 10 percent of business.”

The Starbucks QR code will provide precisely that opportunity. Customers can step up to the counter, order their beverage and scan the quick response code to verify and complete the transaction. This will also help to boost its strength in the competition with its top rival Costa Coffee. That company has been accepting mobile payments for more than a year.