Augmented reality (AR) is a lot more than spy glasses and video games — AR is doing groundbreaking things in improving safety, revolutionizing industry-wide practices, and strengthening medical training. Whether it’s driving to school, work, home, or playing the role of chauffeur, safety is one of the most valued features of any vehicle. With a predicted 2 billion cars on the road by 2035, it is becoming more important than ever before to implement new safety features as congestion on the roads continues to increase. Never fear, AR is working hard to minimize human error in accidents by providing guidance and a completely new display of information.
At a basic level, AR can highlight the current markings on roads such as lines, crosswalks, and signs vital to protecting drivers, passengers, and pedestrians alike. However, the power of AR reaches much deeper. Manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Jaguar, amongst many others have implemented AR in their navigation systems to display real-time data on the road in front of them virtually in order to make following directions much easier with an arrow pointing into the street name you can’t find no matter how hard you try or a warning saving you from rear-ending the person who braked unexpectedly.
Even more than that, companies like Mercedes-Benz are using AR to save the lives of first responders. With all the added features present in cars today, they aren’t nearly as easy to cut into when necessary and that poses a large threat amidst a situation where a few seconds really could be the difference between life and death. To combat this, Mercedes-Benz has provided first responders with an app that will allow them to see what the inside of their vehicles looks first-hand and assess whether cutting through a certain part of the vehicle would be unsafe, potentially saving the lives of emergency personnel as well those in the vehicle.
AR isn’t just for vehicles; it’s changing business practices and training across the world. In Israel, the national water company was able to use AR to streamline any pipe and water restoration, companies across the United States are using AR to aid in guiding field technicians, the military is able to develop step-by-step action guidelines while implementing them in near-reality scenarios and create completely new training techniques, and health students such as those at Cleveland Clinic and Case Western Reserve are able to pursue a new type of training with 3D models using the Microsoft Hololens to not only see cadavers which already saves dozens of hours in a cadaver lab, but also allows students to look deeper into the human body and make connections through a trial and error that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.
AR is enhancing the world around us in ways never thought possible, so the next time that reverse camera comes in handy, take a second and think of all the amazing things that could be the result of a reality truly augmented to maximize safety, time, and quality of life.