AR is still an infant, or at best adolescent, technology. I am sure that it will be developed and used for a wide variety of applications that are as yet unimagined. However, let me describe some possible uses that could be implemented with current technology. If you would like to consult with us on these ideas, we would be delighted to work with you.
- Safety helmet/hard hat replacement: There are tens or hundreds of thousands of people who work in hazardous environments that require hard hats, hearing protection, and eye protection. Imagine combining all three into a helmet with AR inside the face shield, and wireless connection to an AI such as Apple’s Siri or Amazon’s Alexa! For more details as I imagine this helmet, see our fictional Case Study A or Press Release.
- Motorcycle helmet: With minor modifications, the helmet described above could also serve as a motorcycle helmet, providing greatly enhanced situational awareness to motorcyclists.
- Driver safety aid: There is a lot of excitement about self-driving cars, but it seems probable that truly self-driving cars will be electric, and the installed base of internal combustion (IC) vehicles is still over 99% of the market. Imagine retrofitting similar sensors into the IC vehicles and using these sensors to provide driver input via AR. Properly designed, this would give drivers much better situational awareness, and could also detect when drivers are sleepy or under the influence of alcohol or drugs. If proven to make drivers safer, such headsets might become mandatory, resulting in sales of tens or hundreds of millions of units.