The United States Navy has been using the Diver Augmented Vision Device (DAVD), a popular face shield of their Kirby Morgan – 37 diver helmet. This feature inside of this helmet is highly used by commercial divers as well as the US Navy. This device is a top to bottom display that covers sonar views of the oceans seabed, critical information in convenient spots, and even messages from the operators from above the water. This augmented viewer gives you all of the information you will need while you are under the water.
NASA has been collaborating with the Navy for an opportunity to work with their DAVD. NASA believes that the technology used to walk on the floor of the ocean can be used in the harsh conditions of space. This is anticipated to give astronauts a safe way to communicate and see data while outside of their rocket ships.
“You don’t achieve ‘warfighting dominance’ by taking 10 years to finally develop a rugged rotary dial phone,” said Dennis Gallagher, DAVD team project manager. “You achieve it by becoming the collaborator of choice with academia, federal labs, and industry using innovative and creative partnerships. This allows us to develop emerging technologies into new capabilities and solutions for the Warfighter at a significantly accelerated pace.”
In regards to what this technology has done for people inside of the Navy, Allie Williams, the DAVD lead engineer said that “This capability is game changing for divers who usually work in zero visibility conditions – it essentially gives them sight again through real time data and sonar. Even in good visibility conditions, the DAVD system allows for hands free information and less mental strain of trying to remember topside instructions. The same benefits can be gained by astronauts as well – including better situational awareness, safety, and allowing them to be more effective in their missions.”
We can expect NASA to start using this technology inside of their suits in the year 2020, but there is no set date on when the products will be finished. Unlike ocean diving, flying into space is for real astronauts and nobody else. This is going to be an exclusive product that is for NASA and their employees. No matter how long it takes to get to the helmets of astronauts, we are glad to see NASA making a real effort to prioritize the safety of their employees.
If this product fills the full potential of what it can be, we can expect space exploration to take a step forward. This is going to enable NASA to make more fixes to their satellites without having to bring them back to earth by having the workers fix the hardware while they are still in orbit. As of right now NASA doesn’t have any headwear this futuristic, but having this much data at a glance is going to help the smartest people in the world do their jobs much better.
Just like we saw in Minority Report (2002), the AR display can do a great amount for the people using it. If you are familiar with the new Marvel hit Spider-Man: Far From Home, you see the EDITH glasses on Peter Parker. This glasses showed the true potential of augmented reality and how it can be used to communicate with satellites, people, and event the web around you. We are excited to see what NASA does with this technology that the US Navy is helping them get their hands (and eyes) on.
