SafeLens

An AR safety assistant for a university makerspace. It puts the checklist next to the machine, and when someone gets hurt it draws a path on the floor to the sink.

Open the prototype

Safety rules in a makerspace live on wall posters and QR codes. Nobody reads them with their hands already on the machine.

The problem

Final project for 3D Interaction Design at Cornell Tech. We studied the CT MakerLAB and found two gaps. Safety information is passive, so nothing triggers it at the moment of use. And when something goes wrong, the first aid kit and the fire extinguisher are hard to find quickly.

SafeLens covers both. Preventive Mode brings the rules to the machine, Emergency Mode brings the room to the person.

What it does

Walk up to a machine and a panel appears beside it with the checks for that machine. Remove rings, tie up hair, do not reach inside while printing. Tap each one to confirm. The list changes with the equipment in front of you, which a wall poster cannot do.

A floating safety checklist for the X1 Carbon printer sits beside the 3D printer in the VR prototype, first item ticked, a hand reaching for the second — The checklist for the X1 Carbon, anchored to the printer.

Cut yourself and your hands are busy, so the trigger is voice. Say “I cut my finger” and green arrows appear on the floor leading to the sink, then to the first aid kit, with numbered markers over each destination and a panel of instructions when you arrive.

First person view in the makerspace with green arrows across the floor, numbered markers over two destinations, and an injured hand in the foreground — Arrows on the floor beat instructions you have to read.

Building it

Meta Orion glasses were not available to develop on, so I built the prototype in ShapesXR, rebuilding a stripped down MakerLAB in VR with the workbenches, a 3D printer, a sink and a first aid kit. The medium is VR, the interface is designed as AR.

I did the implementation end to end. The environment, the models in it, and the wiring that turns separate screens into one continuous walkthrough.

What testing changed

We walked participants through both scenarios. Three things broke.

The checklist felt like a chore, so it becomes an automatic scan that highlights the watch on your wrist rather than asking you to read a list. The path worked, but visual guidance alone is thin when someone is stressed and bleeding, so it needs voice running alongside. And at the first aid kit, text was not enough. It should highlight the item to pick up.

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