High-tech hard hat to make steel industry safer

A pair of data goggles integrated into a safety helmet is set to make the day-to-day work of employees in the steel industry safer in the future. For example, the glasses warn of hazards that are out of the employees' field of vision.

Visual warning
The idea behind the development is that classic warning devices such as sirens or red traffic lights are often insufficient for hazardous areas in the steel industry: employees are protected by a heat protection suit with a helmet, goggles and hearing protection, which often impairs their perception. The hearing protection prevents him from hearing sirens, and the goggles and helmet severely restrict his field of vision.

Therefore, the visual danger warning is to be integrated directly into the protective equipment with the data goggles. If the worker is in a danger zone or is to be warned directly of a danger, a virtual danger warning is displayed in the user's field of vision. The worker can perceive this in any position and movement. The safety helmet data goggles contain a rechargeable battery as well as a Bluetooth interface and can thus receive data from a smartphone or through corresponding transmitters in the working environment.

Further applications possible
In addition to the primary function of danger warning, other applications are possible in the area of the "Augmented Factory". For example, a virtual list of workpieces to be processed for quality control or plant components, such as consumables, roll condition and run-out of the plant, can be displayed as part of the installation or in the event of plant malfunctions. In the case of data glasses, for example, a malfunction can be displayed at the employee's current location, thus speeding up troubleshooting. Since verbal communication with employees in the steel mill is difficult, the hard hat data glasses can provide audio and video employee chat. It is also possible to use the hard hat data goggles in connection with remote support. In this case, the user connects to a remote support center on site and is guided through repair, maintenance or operation via a bidirectional audio and video connection.

The glasses were developed at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the West Saxon University of Applied Sciences Zwickau (DE) together with the cooperation partner Gesis developed and presented for the first time at CeBIT.