Microdisplays Built into Masks
Students from UC Berkeley are applying some cool technology to face masks (from Telematics Journal via US Fire).
A team of graduate students at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) is using SolidWorks software to develop gear that will prevent firefighters from becoming trapped in fires and help them save victims. Masks with microdisplays will show firefighters where they are in a burning building, and where to find their comrades and victims, giving them vision and information they never had before....
Remote sensors previously installed throughout the building will transmit floor plan information to the microdisplays so firefighters can see where to go to find potential victims. Wristbands will monitor firefighter heart rates and other vital statistics so commanders know every team member's status.
It will be awhile before this technology available at an affordable cost. The remote sensors provide the information for the in-mask microdisplay, but if the building doesn't have the sensors - no display in the mask.
How do you get homeowners to put the sensors in their house? Good idea, but I'm not convinced it will be used in the real world.
