The HoloLens is now being sent into space for NASA employees to test while weightless.
Even though virtual and augmented reality technology based gadgets haven’t really done much in mainstream life down here on Earth, when it comes to people who are living in space, a different situation is underway.
The Microsoft HoloLens is now being sent up to the residents of the International Space Station.
The resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) has included 2 Microsoft HoloLens devices that are meant to be used by NASA astronauts. This will allow them to test out the augmented reality technology for uses in weightless scenarios. The astronauts living on the ISS will be given devices that are meant to function as instruction manuals that offer relevant information in real time. This is a component of an existing NASA project that is called Project Sidekick.
The idea of this use of augmented reality is to boost the communication between the ISS and ground control.
In this way, a tech on Earth located in Houston would be able to see exactly what an astronaut wearing the HoloLens AR headset is viewing, and they will see it in real time. That would then make it possible for that individual on the ground to be able to draw a circle around a specific button or hardware on the view of the space station so that the astronaut’s attention can be drawn to it quickly and easily without lengthy descriptions and directions to find it. The idea is to make it easier to offer instructions for conducting experiments and repairs in a more efficient and effective way than written or verbal instructions.
According to the ISS program director, 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 added that the use of this new augmented reality tech could improve opportunities for explorers in the future who require heightened autonomy, such as on a journey to Mars.
This new technology allows a child to be able to color in the traditional way, but with a high tech twist.
The use of coloring books is something that children have been enjoying for generations, but today’s kids are used to having a digital spin to everything they do and augmented reality is about to help them with that.
A.R. technology is now making it possible for newly colored characters to come alive on device screens.
This isn’t just a matter of having the animated pictures move about the screen. The augmented reality technology used by Arnimate has made it possible for the characters to appear in three dimensions, appear to move about the real world when viewed through the device screen, and will even respond to being “touched” by kids who are playing with them. This is certain to create a new sense of wonder for children who had previously found coloring to be a game that was limited to choosing the shades and trying to stay within the lines.
The augmented reality coloring book experience from Arnimate is meant to be fully immersive for kids.
Every page in the brand’s coloring book products produces a different scene. When viewed through the mobile app, it becomes possible to bring the complete creation to life. The three dimensional characters and scene will start to appear in real time through the device screen. They will move about in front of the child (or adult). The entire scene and all the characters within it will appear in the colors that were selected by the person who filled them in.
The characters within the scenes are all touch responsive which means that they will interact with the mobile device user through the screen when viewed through the app. Each of the scenes can be viewed from different vantage points.
According to the Kickstarter campaign that was launched by Arnimate, “This way, page after page, children will create their own world. They will meet new characters and play fun and educational games, which will undoubtedly develop creative thinking and install thirst for learning new things.”
Every augmented reality coloring book comes with 12 different scenes that are fully interactive through the app. When they are all completed, they make it possible for the user to play a complete game with the main character. It also comes with sound effects and background music that allow a child to essentially create their own full video game.
