Augmented reality may soon be coming to a police officer near you.

Vuzix Corp., a supplier smart glasses and AR technology devices, today announced a partnership with the Netherlands National Police Unit that will actively use Vuzix Blade Smart Glasses to conduct an investigation into the use of AR by its police force. This pilot program will be undertaken alongside laboratory testing in collaboration with the universities of Leiden and Twente and the country’s police academy.

Vuzix Smart Blade Glasses are being used by both mounted and on-foot police officers to provide heads-up hands-free information for unfamiliar areas as well as additional information notification of crimes, suspect pursuit and troublesome locations.

Augmented reality acts as a “window” that overlays over a user’s vision that adds additional information that interacts with physical objects as if it’s part of reality itself. For example, holographic objects can attach to surfaces, visibly adding extra information – such as television screens appearing on otherwise blank walls, or names appearing above faces.

For police, this could enable dispatchers could enable them to add extra information, without cluttering radio communications, that could appear in officers’ vision above police cars or other situations.

“The overall design and the see-through waveguide optics of the Vuzix Blade are proving to be essential must-have features for deployments into police and security operations,” said Paul Travers, president and chief executive officer at Vuzix.

The Vuzix Blade Smart Glasses system is designed to be lightweight and unobtrusive, operate with full color, use Wi-Fi and work under pretty much any conditions. The company also describes them as “more fashionable” for people who are worried about looking silly wearing smart glasses, since they look more like regular glasses than smart glasses.

For police officers, they also look fit into the usual parts of the usual safety kit, since they will couple with the rest of the gear as they can be affixed with safety goggles, radios and helmets.

It is expected that augmented reality could become yet another tool in the communication kit for anyone working in the field. In fact, it is yet another step in the direction of a very science fiction reality envisioned by television and books of our childhood by movies such as “Minority Report” and “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets,” both of which used special effects portraying holographic interfaces that reacted to gestures floating in space in front of the user.

The full operational potential for AR has not been seen yet in the field, although it has been tested in numerous different industries by companies such as Vuzix. Other uses have included giving field technicians access to experts sitting at desks through Scope AR’s WorkLink technology.

“We’re pleased with the positive officer feedback received thus far in this study and look forward to seeing a full proof of concept successfully completed by this police force,” said Travers.

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