Improving public safety with holographic computing
Holographic computing, which anchors digital images to physical objects in the real world, is just around the corner. And the implications for public safety and national security are enormous.
Holograms are photographic recordings of a light field. Holographic computing takes these two – and three-dimensional images and blends them into the physical world, allowing users to manipulate these computer-generated images through physical gesture, eye movements, and voice – in the same way that they interact with information on their computer screen using a mouse.
Combined with data generated from back-end computer systems and wearable technologies such as a specially designed optical system, holographic computing can help users to learn more about specific aspects of their environment and then return, better-informed, to the bigger picture. For law enforcement agencies and the military, this ability has tremendous potential. In a nutshell, it can help police officers and soldiers perform their jobs far more efficiently and accurately, while avoiding life-threatening mistakes.
For example, imagine police officers responding to a 911 call in an unfamiliar neighborhood. Without ever having to consult a laptop or his patrol car radio, they could be pushed information about their physical surroundings to keep them safer. Perhaps holographic images could be overlaid on houses in which there have been prior arrests. Through subtle eye movements, the officers could call up exact arrest incidents to obtain a better understanding of what precautions they should take when entering. In addition, holographic images could be used to represent the exact locations of back-up officers outside the officers’ field of vision, helping them to understand the back-up officers’ exact positions and the directions they are moving.
Holographic computing has similar implications for soldiers in the field. Today, relaying orders to troops in the field can be a challenge. Using holographic computing, commanders could easily push out these orders to every soldier on the battlefield in real time. With the help of holographic images, soldiers engaged in combat could more easily separate enemy combatants from members of their own platoon, reducing the chances of injury from friendly fire. They’d also be able to see where aircraft are positioned and what troops are shooting at specific targets, improving the efficiency and accuracy of their operations.
As information is pushed to soldiers and police officers via wearable technology, they will be able drill down into specific aspects of their environment through physical gestures, voice, or eye movements without ever having to take a hand off their weapons. In addition, holographic computing will eliminate the need for some of the devices police and soldiers currently carry on their belts, reducing the weight of their equipment and improving their agility.
Holographic computing also has implications in the area of forensics. When a crime is committed, multiple police officers sweep the crime scene, analyzing every piece of evidence the human eye can see. But no matter how skilled the investigators are, it’s impossible not to miss certain details. Holographic computing will make it possible to quickly and accurately scan the entire crime scene and turn it into a simulation that combines holographic images with video footage of the environment. As a result, investigators will be able to record every detail of the crime scene and analyze evidence with far greater precision than is possible today.
While holographic computing may sound like science fiction, the future is quickly approaching—and it’s destined to transform the way military and law enforcement agencies approach their work. To learn more, please watch our holographic computing video.
