Researchers have created an augmented reality headset that combines computer vision and wireless perception to automatically locate specific items hidden from view.
The X-AR headset utilizes radio frequency (RF) signals that can pass through common materials like cardboard boxes, plastic containers, or wooden dividers to locate hidden items that have been labeled with RFID tags. Once the item is in the user’s hand, the headset verifies that the correct object has been picked up.
The user can use an AR interface to choose the item they are looking for. X-AR then sends wireless signals to power-up the RFID tags in the vicinity. The tags then send back their unique identifiers – all pretty straightforward stuff so far – but the cleverness of the system is in the way it creates a 3D map of the environment, tracks the user’s movement through the space by assessing the headsets trajectory, and then uses the RF measurements to triangulate the location of the user. The found object is represented as a holographic globe that tells the user where to find the item they requested. The headset provides a seamless, clear experience for users, and it was tested in a simulated warehouse environment, where it successfully guided users toward targeted items with less than 10 centimeters of error and correctly verified that the user had picked up the right item with a 98.9 percent accuracy rate.
While it’s not strictly speaking X-ray vision, it’s just a good example of how head-mounted displays and AR glasses can be leveraged in real-world scenarios. The technology is not going to be fast enough for Amazon’s warehouse workers who are under a lot of time pressure, so we hear, and requires a lot of computational support from a device tethered to a headset, while looking pretty uncomfortable, but the usability is there, and the interface is practical. We just have to get to a point when these types of solutions can be rapidly deployed and disengaged, as the need arises, so that they are used when appropriate, and not just as a permanent interface. We all get to put our phones down or walk away from a computer screens. Headsets seem too needy, by comparison.
