The coolest place on earth this week is probably CES15, once known as the Consumer Electronics Show.
Among the more than 3,600 exhibitors stretched over 2.2 million net square feet of exhibit space in Las Vegas, Vancouver’s NGRAIN is unveiling a partnership with Epson America and a new connected 3D augmented wearable – the Moverio BT-200 smart glasses.
NGRAIN specializes in 3D augmented reality (AR) applications and platforms and has been a go-to for defence platform manufacturers seeking 3D training and maintenance tools over heavy paper-based manuals or other physical resources. Case in point: Lockheed Martin and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
Under the partnership with Epson, NGRAIN is providing the first true optical see-through AR app on the Metaio platform.
“This advanced manufacturing aid enables mobile workers on the shop floor to monitor, control, and optimize manufacturing activities in real-time through an interactive, wearable heads-up display,” the company said in a press release this week. “[It] accurately overlays interactive 3D content on top of objects in the real world and connects to live enterprise data sources such as ERP, CRM, PLM, and SCADA industrial control systems. Now, employees will be able to familiarize themselves with the parts of a complex assembly with a simple tap, call up work orders and inventory information in real-time, and get step-by-step guidance on how to complete procedures using 3D data visualization.”
The application represents the first real-world example of Metaio’s new 1:1 camera calibration capability, which enables accurate optical calibration and registration, showcasing the joint capabilities provided by NGRAIN and Epson to seamlessly mesh 3D graphics with the real world for use in the field.
“NGRAIN is driven to innovate in 3D augmented reality so that our customers eliminate manual or administrative overhead and increase production efficiency. We are committed to the integration of leading technology and data as the Industrial Internet of Things drives industry-wide process improvements more than ever before,” said Gabe Batstone, CEO of NGRAIN. “We are thrilled to work so closely with Epson to showcase the power of true augmented reality on smart glasses.”
The Moverio BT-200 uses micro projectors located on each side of the lens to project transparent overlays of digital content directly in the user’s field of view. In addition to the Moverio BT-200’s sensors for head-motion tracking and hands-free navigation, the smart glasses include a front-facing camera for video as well as image capture that detects real-world markers for augmented reality applications.