Scottish police may be among the first to augment its officers through AR headsets

Hear me out: AR is more important than VR. The best VR headsets are fun and someday may be way more impactful than we could ever imagine in 2023. But AR, right now, holds much more potential, because it can empower us to do, be, understand and act upon more.

And I’m not just talking about how awesome it could be for me to actually be reading my notes on this subject in an HUD, while also seeing my media controls, through a personal screen, thanks to AR.

I’m talking about the potential of AR beyond users too. Like, can you imagine if, let’s say, the police force had access to some sort of AR headsets? That would allow them to react faster, help more people and even grant them quicker access to acting on the spot.

And Scotland’s police force may be among the first in the world to be looking into such a reality.


For starters, let’s get the obvious out of the way: this concept is so impossibly Cyberpunk, that if you aren’t hearing synthwave saxophone riffs in the distance while neon is starting to seep over your vision, then you must be doing something wrong.

Now, beyond that little gag: the SPA — but not the relaxation center, but the Scottish Police Authority — has approved a budget of £400 million (about $505,505) and is even planning a “Digital Division”, especially trained to combat cybercrime.

(Have you started picking out your Cyberpunk class yet? I’m thinking of going with being a Rocketboy.)

Now, the report mentions that some sort of AR glasses are being considered and that obviously makes sense. I mean, imagine a police officer with a bulky headset strapped to their face? Yeah, it wouldn’t inspire much of a sense of security, at least with current-gen headsets.

Here are some of the theoretical abilities that would be granted to officers equipped with these futuristic goggles:

• On-the-spot facial recognition
• Instant language translation
• Lip-reading
• Instant alert system
• Navigation
• Important information

And all of that would effectively show up as a HUD — heads up display — just like in a video game. Only now, Cyberpunk is real life (finally!).

So, when can we expect this to happen? I don’t know. Do we know for certain that it will? Nope! We do know that it is being considered and even funded, though. And that sounds like a beautiful starting point.

… Which should be just enough inspiration for you today to turn to some awesome synthwave playlists while you finish picking out your class.