Sendai website development firm DMP and Sony Corp. have teamed to create a pair of smart glasses that will show how the Tohoku region appeared before the devastation caused by the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
Sendai website development firm DMP and Sony Corp. have teamed to create a pair of smart glasses that will show how the Tohoku region appeared before the devastation caused by the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
The concept for the wearable computer device was the brainchild of students at the Miyagi Prefectural Agricultural High School in Natori. After DMP learned of the students' idea, the company pitched it to Sony, which assisted in the development of the smart glasses.
When the device is worn at a location in Tohoku, the wearer will see an overlaid photo of the scene as it appeared before the disaster struck on March 11, 2011.
"It's easier to use this device than simply using photographs to help people imagine how things were before the disaster," said Kei Sato, a 32-year-old DMP project planner.
A prototype of the smart glasses will be unveiled during the U.N. World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction to be held in Sendai between March 14 and 18. The developers plan on having the final product ready within fiscal 2015. They also plan to include a simultaneous smartphone narration of what occurred in each locale during the disaster.
Currently, the prototype contains only images of Natori before the earthquake and tsunami. Guests at the conference will be invited to use the glasses to see how Natori formerly looked.
DMP plans to cooperate with municipalities and other establishments to add more images of the cities and towns in the region prior to the disaster.