Tag: augmented reality technology

Augmented reality windshields could be distracting to drivers

| July 3, 2015

While AR technology has been developed to help to promote road safety, it could be causing the opposite result.

According to the results of preliminary studies on the use of augmented reality head up displays (HUDs) that show images on windshields that are meant to help to make driving safer and easier for motorists, the use of this technology could actually be making driving less safe.

The problem with AR technology while driving primarily involves distraction due to divided attention.

According to Ian Spence, a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, “Drivers need to divide their attention to deal with this added visual information.” He also pointed out that “Not only will drivers have to concentrate on what’s happening on the road around them as they’ve always done, they’ll also have to attend to whatever warning pops up on the windshield in front of them.”

The professor ran the augmented reality display tests with two of his students to better understand the visual data.

Augmented Reality - WindshieldSpence worked with Sijing Wu and Yuechuan Sun, two of his students, in designing tests that would be able to measure the impact of displaying the additional information as an overlay on the reality seen by a driver. At first, the participants in the research were asked to complete a series of computer based trials. Within those trials, they reported several randomly arranged numbers (which ranged from one through nine) that were displayed on the screen. They needed to identify them as rapidly and accurately as possible once they were prompted to do so.

In some of the trials, they were also presented with a black-outlined square in order to provide a secondary form of stimulus. Those that received that additional stimulus were asked to report whether or not they had seen it. The numbered spots and the shape were displayed at the same time, and the shape appeared in only some trials in an unpredictable pattern among the participants.

When the squares were absent, the accuracy was quite high, which indicated that there wasn’t a lot of attention required in order to identify whether or not the square had appeared. However, when the square appeared along with the numbered spots, the average rate of missing it was one in 15. The higher the number of spots, the greater the average rate of missing the square. This indicated that if the user’s attention is occupied by additional information such as that displayed in augmented reality, it will also be increasingly distracted from the primary task, such as driving.

Microsoft’s augmented reality HoloLens headset space mission destroyed

| June 29, 2015

NASA had been sending the device up to the astronauts to provide assistance with a spectrum of tasks.

The new “Project Sidekick” experienced a massive setback on Sunday when the SpaceX Falcon rocket exploded shortly after takeoff.  The intention of the project was to give astronauts a hand by way of augmented reality as NASA sends the HoloLens from Microsoft up into space in order to let people on the ground guide the astronauts through a variety of different complex tasks. It is believed that the devices will be sent again on a later rocket transport.

This use of AR technology could help to simplify the completion of difficult tasks while in orbit.

The idea is to use the HoloLens augmented reality headset to be able to provide the astronauts with additional information directly from people on the ground. This could be very helpful to the astronauts who will not only be able to hear instructions or see text but also see indications as to precisely what buttons they should be pressing, for example. It will also provide the people on the ground with a much clearer understanding of the perspective of the astronauts while they are actually completing the tasks in question.

The first pair of the augmented reality headsets were to be sent to the astronauts on Sunday with a supply rocket.

The two AR mobile gadgets were added to the resupply mission that was flown into space by the private rocket company called SpaceX. Unfortunately, that rocket exploded and was completely destroyed shortly after liftoff. Those who use the wearable technology will be able to see a display of virtual images in an overlay on top of the actual world around them. This device was unveiled by Microsoft as a part of the launch of their next operating system, Windows 10.

According to the International Space Station (ISS) program, Sam Scimemi, “HoloLens and other virtual and mixed reality devices are cutting edge technologies that could help drive future exploration and provide new capabilities to the men and women conducting critical science on the International Space Station.”

He also went on to say that the augmented reality technology may have the ability to “empower future explorers requiring greater autonomy on the journey to Mars.” NASA and the ISS have already been testing out the AR technology devices on the Weightless Wonder C9 jet in order to simulate its performance in a microgravity environment similar to that of the space station.