Augmented Reality Headsets Round-Up for Engineering
An article published by Engineering.com covers a cross section of Augmented Reality headsets with a specific focus on the ones that the author believes shows the most promise for engineering applications, particularly in the areas of training, maintenance, visualization and collaboration.
The article explores the different types of devices making use of AR technology: tablet, smartphone, Head Mounted Displays (HMDs), smart glasses, visors, helmets and AR contact lenses. The point is made that the most immersive experiences can only be achieved with the larger displays which is the reason so many devices are large.
The article explores some key terminology such as Field of View (FoV), frame rate refresh rate and virtual retinal display (VRD) before going on to look at the potential uses for engineers of the headsets featured in the article.
Customers and potential customers looking to find out detailed information about what’s currently on the market will find useful technical comparative information in this article.
The DAQRI Smart Helmet is first up, manufactured by AREA member DAQRI. The helmet has its own battery and docking station and weighs only as much as a normal industrial hard hat. The smart helmet varies in price, since its features are custom built. Autodesk, GE and Hyperloop are currently testing the smart helmet in situ. The other headsets featured on the list include Metavisions’ Meta 2 and Microsoft HoloLens, a mixed reality headset or holographic computer.
Features of all the HMDs are explored in detail before the article goes on to provide a cross section comparison of alternate AR headsets, including Google Glass, R-7 Smartglasses, Vuzix M300 Smart Glasses and Moverio Pro BT-2000.