Smart glasses technology is the start of the next wave of transformational devices that are expected to have a larger impact than even smartphones. Wearable computer glasses add needed and contextual information to what the wearer sees and in a business setting, they provide a solution for people to access applications while keeping their hands free to work. This is a feature that is offering a significant advantage in field service work involving equipment installation and maintenance, manufacturing and complex assembly, logistics and warehousing, building and construction, and even medical services.
History of smart glasses technology
Many people may remember the Google Glasses that Google released way back in 2014. There were several instances of these smart glasses being used in ways that were not entirely appropriate, creating a great deal of criticism which even led to legislative action due to concerns over privacy and safety. This finally led Google to stop its production of the product within a year.
These devices were a great idea but Google missed the mark for the right use cases. Many businesses recognised the potential of Google glass in the workplace and started putting together projects for them only to be thwarted when Google stopped production. This resulted in new device manufacturers and new innovations in smart glasses technology. Within a few years from their introduction into the market, there are now many options available to users, including Glass from X Company, a semi-secret research-and-development facility founded and operated by Google. It is now clear that Google didn’t end its glass initiatives, but simply shifted from consumer to industrial uses.
Smart glasses technology today
There are a number of smart glasses technology device providers currently, including X Glass, Epson, Vuzix, Sony, Microsoft Hololens, and ODG. According to Bloomberg, Apple is also building a new augmented reality headset.
The glasses come in monocular and binocular forms. Monocular glasses are typically smaller and less obtrusive, whereas binocular glasses provide stereoscopic depth creating a higher fidelity and more immersive experience. Economically, monocular glasses are a low-cost option which makes them preferable to some consumers. However, as smart glasses technology continues to improve, costs are coming down, and devices are getting fancier as well as case-specific. ABI Research believes the market will grow significantly and that binocular options will overtake monoculars soon.
The reality spectrum
The smart glasses technology devices themselves are great, but it comes down to the purpose they are used for. And, that further comes down to simply how we get, react to, and update the information to meet our objectives. We are limited by our biological systems; our eyes only see so much and focus on even less, our mind must then understand what it is seeing, and our memory and knowledge only reaches so far. As opposed to this, a camera can see everything all at once, computer systems and artificial intelligence can process and understand it near instantaneously, and contextually relevant information can be quickly identified and retrieved. The key lies in how we make use of all that. It is all about fitting the business requirement with the right kind of solution.
Smart glasses technology for businesses
Virtual Reality headsets provide an incredibly immersive experience in gaming and because of this augmented and virtual reality games are getting popular for both fun and purpose. But, these technologies offer the most for business and industrial uses: boosting efficiency and productivity, eliminating previously unavoidable risks, and providing employers and managers with new ways to look at information, accomplish tasks, measure performance, and achieve operational results.
Remote video collaboration: The most prominent application of smart glasses technology in business is remote video collaboration. It is improving many sectors as it provides technicians the ability to work together with experts remotely in a see-what-I-see system. This is proving to be useful for a number of purposes such as regular field service check-ups and even complex engineering support, telemedicine, and intricate procedures. This remote assistance possibility is enabling more and more companies to include the eyewear technology solution into their operations.
Real-time guidance: A combination of AR glasses and audio essentially creates a user-specific, contextually relevant guidance system that ensures that wearers are in the right place, looking at the right thing, and taking the right action. The smart glasses technology could benefit almost any employee who is not working at a desk, walking field service representatives through repair procedures or manufacturing technologists through complex assemblies, directing store merchandisers through display setups, guiding warehouse workers through their picking and kitting, or providing home health aides with up-to-date instructions, compliance, and health data supporting arrival at each patient’s home, task completion, and departure.
Immersive Training: Virtual Reality headsets replicate real-life equipment and environments in an immersive training experience which reduces costs and time for workers to gain new and complex skills. Augmented reality glasses enable workers to learn in a hands-on training environment as well as in real-time out in the field.
Working on equipment and holding a reference manual can be quite awkward and switching focus from what your working on over to the printed manual is inefficient and distracting. Smart glasses technology devices display and overlay the instructions to eliminate the need of looking at a physical book. Not only will this help speed up the time to repair, but it will reduce user error as well.
Seeing everything: The camera sees everything all at once while the human eye cannot. Smart glasses technology can alert workers to dangers such as high voltage, fans, and other moving parts, high-pressure pipes, other vehicles, etc. Along with facial recognition software, they can help police officers identify suspects or missing persons in real-time. Specialty cameras can be used to pick up thermal gradients, chemical signatures, radioactivity, or other things that are invisible to the naked eye.
Visualised operations and environments: Operations workers can use smart glasses technology to get real-time operational feedback while they scan the manufacturing floor, assembly lines, warehouse flow, or construction site with relevant information such as costs, supply inventories, planned versus actual spending, employee and equipment scheduling, equipment operation and maintenance details, and more.