This article, written by Dinah Winnick, originally appeared here. 

Carla Viviana Coleman, assistant professor of design, is one of five experts who contributed to a special feature on the best-designed products of all time, published by the The Conversation.

Coleman’s essay focuses on Microsoft HoloLens virtual reality glasses. “The product was designed with ergonomics in mind,” Coleman notes, distinguishing it from “heavy, cumbersome” predecessors and increasing its potential impact on our everyday lives.

“While one could easily imagine a new generation of video games being designed for the HoloLens, a number of employers have realized the glasses can improve workplace productivity and ease the burdens of certain jobs,” Coleman writes. She describes how the glasses are being used to improve efficiency and create new opportunities in technical and medical workplaces:

For example, the company ThyssenKrupp, which manufactures elevators and escalators, has begun giving HoloLenses to its elevator technicians, with the idea that the glasses will allow them to access data much more efficiently. The employees can multitask, choosing either to lift up the spherical visor or to keep it in front of their eyes as needed – all while working in a cramped elevator shaft.

Coleman also highlights how some medical schools are using the HoloLens to train doctors in anatomy without using cadavers, and Volvo is using it as a tool in car design.

The article originally appeared in The Conversation, and has also been published in Scientific American, Salon, and the Christian Science Monitor.

This is a reminder that we are collecting responses for your service to INDS. When you have earned 75 points, you will receive recognition with a special cord to wear at graduation signifying the time and talent you provided to Interdisciplinary Studies.

The breakdown will be (but is not limited to) the following ways to earn your service cord. Additional items can be added to the list, and special circumstances for individualized service will be considered.

After you have completed a service, submit the form on our website. We are also accepting responses for service conducted in previous semesters.

[The following information is also posted on our website.]

5 pts - take photos at an INDS event and share with INDS staff

5 pts - assist INDS staff, Council of Majors or LLC RA with set-up for an event

5 pts - assist INDS staff, Council of Majors or LLC RA with clean up for an event

10 pts - write an article (~250 words) for the INDS newsletter

10 pts - take photos and write a photo story (~250 words) about an INDS event

10 pts - spend an hour writing thank you notes to those who contribute to INDS

10 pts - represent INDS for one hour at an Admissions event

15 pts - spend 1.5 hrs help to plan and execute a CoM event under the leadership of a CoM officer or the individual responsible for planning the event

15 pts per meeting - accept invitation and participate in the Mock ISC (includes 30 minutes preparatory reading and 1 hour of participation)

20 pts - serve as an officer for one semester in the INDS Council of Majors

20 pts - plan and execute an event with the management of other CoM members for the INDS Council of Majors

20 pts - mentor an INDS student formally through the INDS Peer Mentoring Program

Not sure how many points you have collected over time through a submitted form? Email csauter@umbc.edu to find out!