Friday, March 1, 2013

Heads up

Earlier this week, I read a little bit about Google Glass, a soon-to-be-released augmented reality device comprised of a headset in the form-factor of glasses, connected to the Internet via WiFi, or Bluetooth-tethered to a smartphone.  Essentially, Google Glass will combine the function of a head-mounted video camera with a heads-up display for apps running on the device.

Body worn video is spreading quickly in policing, firefighting, and emergency medical services.  We are already using some of these devices locally here in Lincoln.  I believe the day is not far off when it is common for U.S. police officers and paramedics to be recording and/or streaming video from body-worn systems as they go about their daily work, as many departments do now with in-vehicle camera systems.

What intrigued me about Google Glass, however, wasn't video. Rather, it is the concept of a wearable heads-up display.  I can picture all sorts of potential for this. Imagine this application projected in the upper left corner of your heads up display as you move about, or the response from a registration query on your mobile data computer popping into your HUD, or the patient's vital signs.


7 comments:

Anonymous said...

On a semi-related equipment note, out of a 168-hour week, how many hours, on average, does LPD have a tracking dog and handler on duty? Is that pretty much just a matter of funding? How much more money would it cost to have at least one tracking dog and handler available all the time?

Steve said...

Robocop is just around the corner. :)

Unknown said...

Another fun possibility with the glasses is a display of where all your fellow officers are, or anything else that is located by GPS. I'm thinking of something similar to "Monical" with the Yelp app. I'm also thinking of your typical first-person shooter games and how you can tell exactly where your allies are.

Since the glasses have a camera with image recognition, you could automatically scan license plates, faces, etc and do a quick background check!

Unknown said...

Another fun possibility with the glasses is a display of where all your fellow officers are, or anything else that is located by GPS. I'm thinking of something similar to "Monical" with the Yelp app. I'm also thinking of your typical first-person shooter games and how you can tell exactly where your allies are.

Since the glasses have a camera with image recognition, you could automatically scan license plates, faces, etc and do a quick background check!

Tom Casady said...

5:49,

Can't tell you exactly without quite a bit of work, but we are now two K9s down, from 5 to 3. Three people can nominally cover 120 hours, before you account for such things as vacation, holidays, sick leave, military, training etc., all of which consumes quite a bit of time.

When were back to five, things will be better, but the K9 officers are staffed on shifts and with days off that are intended to maximize the chance of a dog being available when needed, so you'll double up some peak times and hours, even if it means that other hours on other days go without a K9 on the schedule.

If no one is on duty, you really on either another agency or calling someone in who is off duty. We are fortunate to have State Patrol and Sheriff's K9 units, and all three agencies provide assistance for one another.

Anonymous said...

RIP Gordon Zimmer #290. You'll be missed!

Anonymous said...

Yhis is off the subject, but the NC newspress has animpressive video of ofcr. Clarke's funeralprocession going thru Otoe Co.Didn't see a thing about it on local news, and I'm wondering how long it was, how many turned out to honor him.