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Comment by netcraft | Hacker News Reader

imagine mechanics using it to see an x-ray kind of view of a vehicle or engine.

location/time awareness could do a "checklist" of sorts when you are leaving your house to make sure you pick up all of the items from the front table.

a lego app that helps you find that piece in the big bin of pieces

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> x-ray kind of view of a vehicle or engine

BMW did a research project about that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9KPJlA5yds

The problem with augmented reality is that you need incredibly low latency: http://blogs.valvesoftware.com/abrash/latency-the-sine-qua-n...

Early systems will likely stick to simple HUD views that don't require tracking of real objects with low latency.

yeah, for realtime AR, latency would be a big challenge, but even if in the beginning you could only take a picture and then overlay a schematic over the top of that view, I could see it being useful.

I have looked up how to take a laptop apart before to change a part that required me to remove screws in certain places, unhook cables and do other steps in a particular order. Half the trouble with that is figuring out where the picture corresponds to the device in your hands - even if you had to manual advance the instructions, a HUD arrow pointing to the screw would be super useful I think.

That video is exactly what im talking about - I think it could be done even better, but you can see the possibilities. I dont really understand the need for tint on those glasses, but im sure it was just an example ;)

Thats cool. Its from 2007 though. There is a similar project being worked on by Metaio that uses 3d tracking and runs on most tablet devices:

http://youtu.be/iz4ykMn3UR4?t=26s

These are wearable computers, not glasses with visual powers that are not yet feasible to implement, period (I'm guessing there would be a few technical issues with head-mounted-x-ray machines).

By x-ray view, I figured he meant it would download the schematic of the engine and display that overlaid on what you're seeing.

The average internal combustion engine is really pretty simple. It is no more complex to a mechanic than the innards of a "powerful" desktop PC are to most computer people.

All the glasses could do is display a layout of a known engine, they can't see inside it to highlight a problem. So, it seems like they would be more of an overall nuisance than anything else in that scenario.

The intriguing thing about proper AR, and the proposed "internet of things", is that in a sufficiently connected/smart environment a highly complex mechanical object could be overlaid with a schematic and data about where faults were, as long as the object was capable of reporting its detailed status over a network. That is effectively the X-ray specs the parent mentioned, and more.

AFAIK, _the_ drive for AR in maintenance is that it makes it possible for you to look at a schematic while using both hands for the task at hand, and in whatever position you are.

For example, imagine inspecting a plane's fuel tanks from the inside. You could bring a manual, but getting it out of your pocket may be cumbersome, checking that you took it out after the job takes time, etc (forgetting your glasses is less of a risk; you would need them soon again. That manual? The next tank might have a different 200 page one)

Depending on the PDF processes to create that manual and its overall design sensibility...imagine how hard it will be to navigate the same kind of manuals that don't behave on a tablet...sometimes, paper will still end up as being the best choice.

yes, I didnt mean to really xray the engine, just give you an AR view of the schematic. I would assume it would require certain calibration points or barcodes on the engine to orient itself.

And even if it was a nuisance once you learned the engine, it could be a useful tool in schools or someone learning a new engine.

Even imagine a small engine machine shop that sees 10s or 100's of different kinds of engines.

I don't think it would work well in real-time with barcodes since the human head is in constant movement. Current gyroscopic sensors would not make it a seamless experience.

Not sure what you mean. The tech is already here on tablets. Check out this recent video from Metaio:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=i...!

It uses 3d tracking and could easily be changed from an AC unit to an engine. I think the software is definitely ready.

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