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by Mathew Politansky | Jan 21, 2021 | Blogs, Hololens, mixed reality, Mobile App Development | 1 comment
Aircraft Technicians from No. 36 Squadron at RAAF Base Amberley are now using Microsoft HoloLens mixed reality devices (goggles) with Boeing software to maintain C-17A Globemaster III aircraft. Implemented by the Squadron and Boeing contractors to navigate COVID-19 restrictions when working with their United States based counterparts, the first trial of the devices started in July 2020. This is a new capability for any RAAF aircraft maintenance team.
The HoloLens provides a promising glimpse into the future of technology in Australia. From education to medicine Australia has embraced the innovative prospects of the HoloLens.
The HoloLens & its current uses in Australia
Currently, the HoloLens is being primarily used in Australian industries. It provides innovation in industries that can truly benefit from seeing holographic information layered over the real world.
Medical
- Holographic Doctor: Launched in Perth the world’s first ‘holographic doctor’ will allow health care workers to visit patients in holographic form. The doctor will be able to see through the eyes of the nurse who attends the consultation. In real-time, the medical professional is able to view your blood pressure and any other clinical data needed to diagnose you. It allows clinical professionals to remain in central locations, while still providing personalised care.
- Medical Education: The University of Sydney uses Microsoft’s HoloLens in order to allow their students to look inside the anatomy of the human body. The interactive experience allows students to see and study the anatomical complexities of the human body. This gives students the ability to see how bones, muscles, organs, and the nervous system interact with each other.
Infrastructure
- BIM: Building Information Modelling is being put to use by professionals in their infrastructure projects. MR headsets such as the HoloLens merges real-time and virtual worlds in order to simplify BIM. It reduces the need for construction sites to have real-life models. HoloLens also allows a professional to view the plans in real-time, allowing them to see any faults or incorrect placements before it is too late. This increases efficiency and safety when undergoing infrastructure projects.
Defence
- ARV: Augmented Reality Visualisation within the Australian Air Force has been demonstrated to allow invited professionals to see real-time simulations. These simulations were developed in order to showcase how valuable technology such as Microsoft’s HoloLens can be for the Defence Force in planning. The Air Force was specifically looking for new technologies at the event, in order to continue their industry’s own innovation and adaptation. The Australian arm of SAAB took charge of the technology, which was shown at a private invitation-only event.
- Maintenance: HoloLens is also currently used within the Air Force in order to conduct routine maintenance. Unable to have the usual United States technicians fly in to conduct maintenance due to COVID-19 Australian technicians used the HoloLens to allow collaboration. Through the MR headset, the US team could work seamlessly with the Australian team by sharing screens and seeing exactly what on-ground technicians saw inside the aircraft through iris tracking.
HoloLens being used in The University of Queensland to teach students
Education
- The University of Queensland: The University of Queensland was looking to make lectures and tutorials more interactive for students in order to increase attendance. Partnering with a professor who was dealing with a large amount of raw data MR seemed to be the viable answer. The university used the HoloLens in order to create a mixed reality space for agriculture students to immerse themselves in. They built a simulation of a fish farm where students had a holographic representation mixed with the data. The experience also allowed students to visualise chemicals that could not be seen with the human eye.
- Canberra Grammar School: Pearson’s Immersive Learning division is spearheading a project that seeks to put Mixed Reality into Australian education. Currently, the only high school in the world where technology like this is being trialed, Canberra Grammar School is opening itself up to new learning opportunities. The technology allows students to walk through 3000-year-old buildings, visualise the inside of molecules, and witness the inner workings of a human heart. The students are able to interact with their holographic surroundings, providing an immersive and engaging educational experience.
The HoloLens & it’s future within Australia
Microsoft’s HoloLens was the first truly wireless mixed reality (MR) headset. It allows users to interact with holograms placed within the real world. The headsets’ future capabilities do not only hold promise within the Australian industry but also in the recreational field. While the HoloLens paves the way for innovation within industries such as engineering, medical, and education, it shows us the combining of our environment with technology.
Reality and technology are becoming more intertwined as years go on, in order to make processes simpler and easier. Holograms seen through the headset whilst conducting surgery could very well prove life-saving. In engineering, Holograms can make buildings safe, and more efficient in completion. The headset also shows us a glimpse into the future of VR, AR, and MR gaming. Showing that one day in the future a player may be able to be completely immersed within their game.
The HoloLens’s use in Australia shows us a glimpse into what our future may one day become. A world wherein technology and man work together, in order to save lives, innovate their industries, and provide recreational fun.
Australia’s innovation with the HoloLens has provided an exciting glimpse into the future of technology in our everyday lives. The MR headset has changed industries and education forever. If the innovations starting within Australia are any indicator it is clear that our future is one where technology and humans work side by side, in order to create efficiency.
