Tag: augmented reality

This technology is providing doctors with a virtual view of real world organs during surgeries.

Fraunhofer MEVIS, a research institute in Germany, has now created an app that gives surgeons the opportunity to use an iPad device as an augmented reality viewfinder in the real time to assist them during operations.

The app provides doctors with the ability to better plan their surgeries and to use digital overlays of primary blood vessels.

This use of technology could provide a meaningful amount of assistance to doctors who are frequently required to memorize the precise locations of a person’s blood vessels so that they can avoid them during a surgical procedure. By complementing that practice with a system based on augmented reality would mean that they would have reminder support that could be effective enough that it could save lives.

The augmented reality system is still in need of some fine tuning as it remains somewhat on the clunky side.

Though the concept of using augmented reality this way may seem promising, it has a number of glitches that still need to be worked out, because it is not possible for a surgeon to actually use the technology on his or her own during an operation. To use the tablet at the same time that an operation is taking place, another pair of hands is required, and that individual will need to be able to hold it up and at the perfect angle throughout length and challenging surgeries.

The solution that seems most obvious for this problem is to introduce the system based on augmented reality to a device that is hands free, such as the Google Glass head mounted product. Though it doesn’t look as though Fraunhofer MEVIS is currently working on that type of project, it does have teams that are examining different ways to be able to project the surgical planning data directly onto the individual who is receiving the procedure and on his or her organs. The team is also working on systems that would give doctors the ability to use a gesture to be able to access the device, instead of the touchscreen.

The search engine giant has now purchased a portfolio that had previously been owned by Foxconn.

Google has just announced that it has purchased the augmented reality display patent portfolio from Hon Hai Precision Industry at Foxconn, as the search engine giant continues to drive forward in its development of its Google Glass technology.

Hon Hai is currently a major supplier for leading IT brands around the world, including Apple.

It has now sold a portfolio of different head mounted display (HMD) augmented reality and other patents, according to its own news release. The technology involved in the patent portfolio is directly related to the way that the computer generated AR images are superimposed over the view of the real world, said the release. The technique is used in everything from gaming and video devices to tactical displays and aviation, and even simulation and training tools.

The augmented reality patents in the portfolio are directly connected to the type of tech used by Google Glass.

Other than this, very few other details regarding this augmented reality patent deal have been released. A spokesperson from Google has declined to make any additional comments regarding the purchase that was made. Neither Hon Hai, nor the company that facilitated the sale, MiiCs & Partners, was available for immediate response to press requests for a comment.

This could be an important addition to the work that Google has been putting into the release of its augmented reality Google Glass product. That wearable device features a head mounted display and is currently available only to a small group of specifically selected testers and a limited group of developers.

This latest augmented reality investment isn’t the only one that Google has made recently. In July, Google invested in a chip maker from Taiwan that manufactures the AR glasses components. It also stated that it would purchase shares in order to obtain an interest worth 6.3 percent of Himax Display, which is a Himax Technologies subsidiary. This investment is geared toward expanding the capacity available at Himax, as well as funding production upgrades. It is that company that produces the Google Glass liquid crystal on silicon chips.