The applications of augmented reality are growing every day. From catching Pokemon to online shopping, this new content medium is quickly becoming a hot new way for users to consume content.

But augmented and virtual reality aren't just for fun and games. They can also be used in engineering. And scientists at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology are doing just that.

They've discovered a unique way to use augmented reality to solve a problem that faces engineers who work on commercial aircraft - specifically the fuel tanks. Currently, engineers must physically climb into the aircraft in order to work on it. This not only requires careful balance and the use of both of the engineer's hands to stead himself, but they must also frequently refer to instructions. Not a simple task.

Because many aircraft are too small to travel long distances, additional smaller fuel tanks must be installed and regularly maintained.

"The augmented reality glasses...display the work to be done in the engineers' field of vision, who then have their hands free to install or repair components," says Christian Tesch, one of the project's lead researchers.

The program works by using special scan markers on the fuel tank which allow the engineer to identify the specific tank in question. A transparent 3d overlay is digitally projected onto the tank, giving engineers additional information and instructions on how to install a pipe or otherwise repair the fuel tank. Not only that, the program also gives the engineer information on where to find where any additional components are located in order to complete the work.

Here at Lucyd, this is EXACTLY the type of use case that we envisioned for our augmented reality Lucyd Lens smartglasses. In the future, we believe that engineers like the ones at Karlsruhe will be able to operate fully hands-free, with augmented reality smartglasses like ours feeding them step-by-step instructions on what to do and how to do it.

And with applications like these already making their way into the private sector, we believe it won't be long until we begin to see mass adoption.

What do you think of this latest use case for augmented reality?

Tell us in a comment!

IMPORTANT NEWS

The Lucyd eShop will launch July 31st, 2018. We aim to build a fun, convenient storefront where you can order the world’s most advanced eyewear. Not only will the eShop carry Lucyd Lens and other products we develop, we spent a lot of effort finding the best frame styles and technologies out there for our future customers. We want Lucyd to be the place to order smart and standard spectacles, with a wide selection of futuristic frames. Best of all, it will be the first place in the world where you can order prescription eyewear for crypto! BTC and ETH will be accepted at first. The Lucyd eShop will ship worldwide and guarantee every pair of specs it sells.

LCD tokens will be used as the rewards points for the eShop, in addition to previously planned utilities in P2P token transfers between smartglasses.

Part of the vision for the eShop is that we recognize the need for customization for smartglasses — they are not a one-size-fits-all product. The eShop will offer a range of personalization options, including various colors for most frames, and a number of different lens configurations.

We are on schedule to deliver the beta Lucyd Lens AR smartglass early next year. Remember, you will need to have purchased 5000 LCD during the ICO to participate in the beta.

We will be attending the following upcoming blockchain conferences:

BAICONF London — June 18th-19th 2018

BBCC 2018 The Bahamas — June 20th-22nd 2018

Meet us there or shoot us an email anytime at [email protected]! If you have not received tokens from the ICO be sure to reach out! Don’t forget, LCD is now purchasable on idex.market/eth/lcd so get yours today. We have a handy tutorial for using IDEX on our Youtube: