These smart glasses could help pilots land during extreme emergencies

The cockpit fills with smoke, blinding the pilot. With the plane still in the air, there’s serious trouble. How will she land the aircraft, saving the lives of everyone on board, as well as the cargo, and of course, the plane itself?

Osterhaut Design Group, a leading maker of smart glasses, thinks it has the answer. Today, ODG unveiled Saved–“Smoke assured vision enhanced display”–a prototype heads-up display oxygen mask meant to help pilots land even when there’s a true emergency, like the cockpit filling with smoke.

The system would allow pilots to be able to see information from the plane’s computers, as well as views from external cameras, using ODG’s augmented reality technology.

ODG developed Saved in partnership with FedEx Express, and the San Francisco company is hoping to sell the special masks to civil and commercial airplane makers, as well as militaries around the world. The theory is that because smoke and fumes are the most common reason for emergency landings, the potential market for Saved is vast–as many as 39,000 potential planes.