4 ms·

Augmented reality helps Marine mechanics to be 56 Percent Faster

33 points by ca98am79 17y ago

rflrob 17y ago
One thing that always irks me about things like "56 percent faster" is the potential confusion. On the one hand, it's fine to say you do things 56% faster: that describes a rate of speed, and now the rate is 156% of baseline. But when they say, "it can help users find and begin a maintenance task in almost half the usual time," I'm not sure if 64% of the time is really "almost" half, or now if the writer seems to think they did it in 56% of the time. Still, pretty neat. I can't wait until this stuff trickles down into the public sector (more than just a handful of iPhone apps).
- sketerpot 17y ago
  YES. They should teach this in journalism school: if they did it in 65% of the time, then phrase it that way.
ryanwaggoner 17y ago
The next 20 years are going to be incredible. Think about technology like this applied to the medical field, or tourism, or food preparation. Of course, some of these tasks will probably be made irrelevant by robotics soon after this kind of technology becomes widespread, but I'm sure we'll find uses for it.
- queensnake 17y ago
  You might like a chapter or two of Marshall Brain's 'Manna' http://www.marshallbrain.com/manna1.htm http://www.marshallbrain.com/manna1.htm - set in next year, interestingly :) His other stuff on the left is good, too.
- patio11 17y ago
  I think it will be far easier to sell the relevant guilds on augmented humans than it will be to sell them on robots. They can continue to collect dues from the humans, after all. (Granted, they'll fight this tooth and nail anyway. 56% more productive is just another way to say 36% less mechanics.)
  - sketerpot 17y ago
    Luckily, 56% more productive also means that a mechanic who uses this can make more money and tell the guilds where to shove their objections.
    - patio11 17y ago
      I was thinking of industries (airlines) where you can't be a mechanic without being a member in good standing of the Right Honorable Order of Artificiers.
    - berntb 17y ago
      Not in the transitional period, when there are lots of newly unemployed mechanics. All working hard to learn the new virtual reality systems. And probably not after that time, either.

33 points by ca98am79 17y ago

One thing that always irks me about things like "56 percent faster" is the potential confusion. On the one hand, it's fine to say you do things 56% faster: that describes a rate of speed, and now the rate is 156% of baseline. But when they say, "it can help users find and begin a maintenance task in almost half the usual time," I'm not sure if 64% of the time is really "almost" half, or now if the writer seems to think they did it in 56% of the time. Still, pretty neat. I can't wait until this stuff trickles down into the public sector (more than just a handful of iPhone apps).

sketerpot 17y ago
YES. They should teach this in journalism school: if they did it in 65% of the time, then phrase it that way.

ryanwaggoner 17y ago

The next 20 years are going to be incredible. Think about technology like this applied to the medical field, or tourism, or food preparation. Of course, some of these tasks will probably be made irrelevant by robotics soon after this kind of technology becomes widespread, but I'm sure we'll find uses for it.

queensnake 17y ago
You might like a chapter or two of Marshall Brain's 'Manna' http://www.marshallbrain.com/manna1.htm http://www.marshallbrain.com/manna1.htm - set in next year, interestingly :) His other stuff on the left is good, too.
patio11 17y ago
I think it will be far easier to sell the relevant guilds on augmented humans than it will be to sell them on robots. They can continue to collect dues from the humans, after all. (Granted, they'll fight this tooth and nail anyway. 56% more productive is just another way to say 36% less mechanics.)
- sketerpot 17y ago
  Luckily, 56% more productive also means that a mechanic who uses this can make more money and tell the guilds where to shove their objections.
  - patio11 17y ago
    I was thinking of industries (airlines) where you can't be a mechanic without being a member in good standing of the Right Honorable Order of Artificiers.
  - berntb 17y ago
    Not in the transitional period, when there are lots of newly unemployed mechanics. All working hard to learn the new virtual reality systems. And probably not after that time, either.