DARPA invests in AI that can translate instruction manuals into augmented reality

WASHINGTON – The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has issued a $5.8 million contract to a team building an artificial intelligence system able to scan instruction manuals and convert that data into instructions for augmented reality systems. Companies are already using augmented reality technologies in their manufacturing processes. Lockheed Martin, for example, uses augmented reality goggles in assembling its space systems for NASA. With the goggles on, technicians can see relevant information and instructions in the space around them as they go about their work, saving them from having to constantly walk back and forth to consult physical manuals or computer monitors. Under the $5.8 million contract, PARC, a Xerox company, will work with the University of California at Santa Barbara, the University of Rostock in Germany and Patched Reality on the Autonomous Multimodal Ingestion for Goal-Oriented Support (AMIGOS) project for the Perceptually-enabled Task Guidance Program.