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Augmented Reality Gets Real for First Responders

Aug. 23, 2016

An app from Mercedes is showing augmented reality is moving beyond gaming.

If the recentt obsession over the Pokemon Go smartphone app is any indication, the whole world seems to be enamored with augmented reality (AR)—even if tolks don’t recognize the technology by name.

In fact, AR is starting to hit a groove outside of gaming as a number of companies experiment with use cases for the still nascent technology. Luxury car giant Mercedes-Benz is one. Similar to competitors like Audi, Mercedes is tapping AR for its glitzy marketing prowess to create interactive user manuals and sales tools.

But Mercedes is pushing AR even further. According to a CNET article, Mercedes has come up with a Rescue Assist app that leverages AR to show first responders how to safety enter a vehicle. The idea is to leverage AR capabilities to serve up data—things like digitized blueprints and schematics--directly on the car in question, helping first responders avoid cutting into high-voltage cables, batteries, or other potentially dangerous components while they are mid-rescue.

All new Mercedes, Smart and Fuso vehicles come with a QR code that, once scanned, opens the app's relevant data page. Owners of vehicles as old as the 1990 model year can have a dealership affix a simiar QR code tot heir cards, so they can participate as well.

Clearly AR is no longer just for fun and games.

About the Author

Beth Stackpole, contributing writer | Contributing Editor, Automation World

Beth Stackpole is a veteran journalist covering the intersection of business and technology, from the early days of personal computing to the modern era of digital transformation. As a contributing editor to Automation World, Beth's coverage traverses a range of industries and technologies, including AI/machine learning, analytics, automation hardware and software, cloud, security, edge computing, and supply chain. In addition to her high-tech and business journalism work, Beth writes an array of custom editorial content and thought leadership pieces.