Augmented Reality Will Give US Troops the Upper Hand

Not a day goes by that we don't read an article orfield. Tanagram Partners is a Chicago-based company
hear about a piece of news involving the latest newthat is developing prototypes striving to change the
gadget in the field. Years ago this would have beenface of military combat altogether. Some of their
the stuff of dreams, or maybe a cool prop in awork was presented last week at the Augmented
science fiction movie. Now, the military is heavilyReality Event in Santa Clara, CA, and in the
invested in augmented reality applications for its footpresentations, attendees learned how the company's
soldiers and vehicle operators.technology could give American troops the upper
The popular technology blog Read Write Web justhand in a hostile situation. They are developing a
posted an article, which focuses on military-gradesystem of lightweight displays and sensors that
augmented reality apps and how they could redefinewould be fitted into soldiers' helmets. The plan is to
warfare as we know it. As the article states, manyhave computers, a 360-degree camera, UV and
of us are familiar with augmented reality to someinfrared sensors, OLED translucent display goggles
extent. We see it on TV - the 1st and ten line thatand stereoscopic cameras, to name a few, all
appear on the field of a televised football game, forembedded into a helmet. This will provide a system
example, or the highlighted hockey puck that raceswhere soldiers could communicate with a "home
around the ice helping us to see it on TV (A little bitbase" server that would collect and render 3D
of trivia for you...I just learned that the original classicinformation into their heads-up display goggles.
black and white soccer ball was designed for blackThrough these animations, soldiers could be supplied
and white televisions years ago to help viewers seewith data on potentially dangerous locales, situations,
the ball while it was in play).and buildings in real-time during combat. Tanagram
The military has played a significant role in the earlyexecutives hope, with help from augmented reality,
development of the augmented reality industry, andtroops could better understand their surroundings and
the article discusses one company in particular that isbe informed about potential threats they wouldn't
leading the charge for modern developments in theotherwise know about.