Hasta La Gadget!

Watching a master at work is a great way to acquire motor skills. But it’s not that easy to keep an eye on someone else while looking at your own movements to see if you’re doing it right. A proof of concept system called Ghostman helps you do both simultaneously, thanks to augmented reality glasses.

Ghostman was designed by researchers from the University of Tasmania and the University of Washington, led by Dr. Winyu Chinthammit. Using two pairs of Vuzix Wrap 920AR glasses, Ghostman overlays a teacher’s hand over the student’s own vision. The student can then see the demonstration from his teacher’s point of view while his own hand is also in full view.

In their limited tests, Dr. Chinthammit and his colleagues found out that teaching a new motor skill through Ghostman is as effective as going about it with an instructor sitting by your side. This means it could one day be possible for instructors to effectively teach motor skills through a remote session. Although I think it would also be beneficial if the teacher could see from his student’s perspective as well to help him provide feedback.

Come on doc, we all know a pottery lesson would’ve been more appropriate. Head to Hindawi to read the researchers’ paper on Ghostman.

All images by Dr. Chinthammit et al.

[via New Scientist via PSFK]