Military Technology Helps Service Cars (NAPSA)—Technology used by the American military is helping to keep U.S. cars in shipshape— and save consumers time at the mechanic. The technology is a wireless computer being used by the Army Reserve to perform maintenance on miliary vehicles. They use the devices to access information at any time, via what’s known as a head-updisplay. The head-up display hasa clear piece of glass that hangs from a visor, hat or even a military helmet in front of the user’s eye. The glass reflects a scannedlight beam onto the wearer’s eye, creating a superimposed image hovering in front of the user. The effect is similar to having a computerscreen in front of you wherever you go. The technology is now being used by service technicians when they repair cars. Service technicians who wear the technology, called the Nomad Expert Technician System, can stay on task (and under the hood) without having to stop workto retrieve impor- tant information. The technology can be used while looking under a vehicle, for example, to see a repair diagram for the driveshaft, view wheel alignment specifications or gain access to hundreds of other repair details. Auto experts say staying in one place will let technicians be more productive—and that increased access to information will increase the quality of repair jobs and the likelihood a car will be fixed prop- Head-up displays used by the military are now usedto repair cars. erly the first time. “Of the dealerships using the technology now, most are finding that each technician is able to increase productivity by up to 24 percent per day by not having to leave the vehicle being repaired in order to check the specs on a stationary computer or in a printed manual,” said Tom Sanko, Vice President at Microvision (Nasdaq: MVIS), the company that makes Nomad. “That means more cars repaired correctly in a shorter amountof time.” Some dealerships have also used the system to maintain good customer relations and service outside the service bay. They’ve encouragedservice advisors to use the Nomad when they greet and consult with customers at their cars. The system gives them hands-free access to online vehicle history and repair information. For more information, visit www.microvision.com.
