We have developed an assistive technology for people with vision disabilities of central field loss (CFL) and low contrast sensitivity (LCS). Our technology includes a pair of holographic AR glasses with enhanced image magnification and contrast, for example, highlighting objects, and detecting signs, and words. In contrast to prevailing AR technologies which project either mixed reality objects or virtual objects to the glasses, Our solution fuses real-time sensory information and enhances images from reality. The AR glasses technology has two advantages: it’s relatively ‘fail-safe.” If the battery dies or the processor crashes, the glasses can still function because it is transparent. The AR glasses can also be transformed into a VR or AR simulator when it overlays virtual objects such as pedestrians or vehicles onto the glasses for simulation. The real-time visual enhancement and alert information are overlaid on the transparent glasses. The visual enhancement modules include zooming, Fourier filters, contrast enhancement, and contour overlay. Our preliminary tests with low-vision patients show that the AR glass indeed improved patients' vision and mobility, for example, from 20/80 to 20/25 or 20/30.
We present a head-mounted holographic display system for thermographic image overlay, biometric sensing, and wireless telemetry. The system is lightweight and reconfigurable for multiple field applications, including object contour detection and enhancement, breathing rate detection, and telemetry over a mobile phone for peer-to-peer communication and incident commanding dashboard. Due to the constraints of the limited computing power of an embedded system, we developed a lightweight image processing algorithm for edge detection and breath rate detection, as well as an image compression codec. The system can be integrated into a helmet or personal protection equipment such as a face shield or goggles. It can be applied to firefighting, medical emergency response, and other first-response operations. Finally, we present a case study of "Cold Trailing" for forest fire prevention in the wild.