Usually known for its year-round temperate weather, California has been experiencing a rather hot summer - even for a state known to have unpredictable weather.

As wildfires continue to spread across the trendsetting state, some fire departments are beginning to use augmented reality technology to fight fires. While some military personnel have experimented with mixed reality training programs, this seems to be the first time a group of emergency responders are using AR during a real crisis.

The technology, called EdgyBees, provides something called "contextual mapping" to emergency teams out in the field. Loosely defined, contextual mapping is integrating information from people's everyday lives in the design process. This term is normally used in UX and product design, but in this case they are using real-time reporting and a digital overlay to clearly mark affected areas so firefighters can plan their strategy.

CEO of Edgy Bees, Adam Kaplan, had this to say about the current use of his project:

"The unique nature of fighting fires necessitates the use of knowing the precise locations of teams, equipment, and potential hazards. EdgyBees augments live video feeds with geo-information layers, including maps, building layouts, points of interest, user-generated markers, and more data layers that provide visual context and operational intelligence."

In the simplest terms, the technology can be compared to a sports announcer calling plays in a football game.
EdgyBees enables real-time reporting of information across multiple platforms. The ability to aggregate this information into one place is perhaps the most attractive attribute of the tool. Prior to using tools like EdgyBees, firefighters had to use a combination of a collection of physical maps and radio communication between teams to effectively fight fires.

Now, however, all the relevant information is sent to a single augmented reality interface. One could imagine how this could be applicable to other emergency response teams. Police units could use it to visually map out emergency incidents across the city. The military could use it during operations to identify hot spots and no-go zones.

One thing is for sure: the surface of applications of augmented reality is only just being scratched. But with companies like EdgyBees leading the way, we're likely to see adoption increase across related industries as the tech becomes more popular.

What do you think about EdgyBees new tech? Let us know in a comment!

IMPORTANT NEWS: Lucyd Update August 6th

Hello Lucyd community! Thanks for your interest and support. We have a lot of exciting developments in the works for 2018 and beyond.

1. The Lucyd eShop opened last week. This will be our sales platform for all Lucyd products. We have launched with four main lines of frames, international shipping, a variety of Rx and plano lens options, and more. The first four lines are Lucyd Loud, a Bluetooth "soundglass" that enables handsfree music and voice assistant; Turboflex, a line of durable, flexible frames; Di Valdi, cutting-edge Italian designer frames, and Lucyd Looks, basic frames with a unique understated style.
   In addition to our in-house development of Lucyd Lens and Loud, we are continually researching the best tech and fashion forward glasses worldwide, to make them available on the eShop. We are also making ongoing improvements to the UX of the eShop, so please give us a few weeks as we polish the mobile and desktop experience.
   Some of you may be surprised by our decision to launch an eShop, because this is a new development not outlined in our roadmap. But we realized it was needed to allow for the proper customization of our hardware to address the visual requirements of our customers, and the concept of an eShop for tech glasses was born. It has already become one of the only places in the world to purchase Bluetooth glasses with prescription lenses, and likely the only one to deliver in a timely fashion. It is also the first online store in the world for purchasing prescription eyeglasses using crypto as well as fiat currency.

2. The LCD token. Many of you are wondering when LCD will come into play. We are currently developing a wearable app for LCD to enable its use with both Lucyd Lens and Loud. We are also developing integration into the eShop for a rewards program, and redemption for hardware and software. We expect to have these utilities in the next 6–7 months.

3. Lucyd Loud, the Bluetooth soundglass, is still a beta product. We plan to make several enhancements to both the style and technology in this product over the next year.

4. Lucyd Lens, the visual AR smartglass, is expected to enter beta on time in Q1 2019. It will be released via the eShop.

5. We are also developing an app called LINK to improve the usability of smartglasses for common smartphone tasks, with a focus on messaging, navigation, social and search.

6. The LCD token portal at lcd.lucyd.co is temporarily down. It will be back up shortly with an access link in the footer of the eShop.

That's all for now! Stay tuned for more updates, and upgrade your eyewear now at lucyd.co!