From Battlefield to Operating Room: Augmented Reality Gets Practical

SCIENCE -- September 17, 2012 at 1:41 PM EDT

From Battlefield to Operating Room: Augmented Reality Gets Practical

Augmented reality: technology that superimposes computer-generated virtual objects onto our view of the real world. In the National Science Foundation's* latest Science Nation piece, NewsHour science correspondent Miles O'Brien reports on a team of scientists at Mississippi State University working to mix virtual and real objects for practical use.

They envision different applications. A surgeon using augmented reality in an operating room to manipulate a scalpel inside a body cavity, for example. Soldiers receiving virtual commands or warnings through their goggles. More in the video above.

*For the record, the National Science Foundation is an underwriter of the NewsHour.

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