Lockheed Is Using These Augmented Reality Glasses To Build Fighter Jets
[Philip Lelyveld note: new AR technology is now working its way back into the industries where VR and AR originated!]
Until recently, Lockheed Martin needed a team of technicians with years of training to wrench on its sophisticated machines. But now, in the advanced factory where the company is building the F-35, engineers are using augmented reality glasses and educational software that provide real-time visuals during the plane's assembly, ensuring that every part on the warplane is in the right place.
Lockheed is collaborating with NGRAIN on a trial in which employees wear $700 Epson Moverio BT-200 glasses, transparent glasses with a front-facing camera that uses motion and depth sensors to overlay images onto the technician's working environment. When a glasses-wearing engineer is installing a brake component on the landing gear, they look at the wheel and the chunky glasses show renderings of every bolt and cable, with the part numbers and ordered instructions showing where each part fits. It's like being able to see a hologram of the Legos you need to assemble a project overlaid with the instructions, as opposed to looking down and checking the instruction manual.
See the full story here: http://www.popularmechanics.com/flight/a13967/lockheed-martin-augmented-reality-f-35/