Vuzix Corporation, supplier of Smart Glasses, AR, and VR technologies for consumers and enterprises, has announced a partnership with Ubimax to offer a hands-free smart glasses solution using the Vuzix M300 to WS Kunststoff-Service.

The aim of this team-up is to curtail employee training, improve processes, and reduce errors. One motivator is cited as rising competition from low-wage countries, as was experienced at WS Kinstaff-Service. 

The Vuzix M300 uses a graphical user interface and communication via external sensors, scales, etc. to provide a step-by-step guide for the worker. Wassim Saeidi, CEO at WS Kunststoff-Service, is quoted to have said that the technology provides a long term advantage over competition, as their employees benefit from this type of hands-free workstyle, and customers appreciate improved products.

The solution provided by Vuzix and Ubimax has resulted in a substantial performance improvement in training. Later, WS Kunststoff-Service added Ubimax’s xAssist to allow workers to call shift leaders from their M300 Smart Glasses when issues occur, resulting in reduced costs.

Paul Travers, CEO and founder of Vuzix, is quoted to have said that they are eager to partner with Ubimax and help WS Kunststoff-Service with their manufacturing solution, and that Vuzix are providing hundreds of customers with their technology.

A recent report discusses the Global Smartglasses Market examining the performance of the market in 2017. The market report contains in-depth research of the market state and the competitive landscape globally.

The report includes Smartglasses market size, revenue, market share, Smartglasses industry volume, market trends, Smartglasses growth aspects and a wide range of applications, utilization ratio, supply and demand analysis. It also shows manufacturing capacity and Smartglasses price during the forecast period from 2017 to 2022.

Top vendors which are mentioned in this report include:

• Google Glass
• Microsoft
• SONY
• Samsung
• Newmine
• Baidu glasses
• Recon
• Lenovo
• ITheater
• And many more

The report covers the top Smartglasses manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.

Giving information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of the Smartglasses industry and rules  and policies.

To request a free sample of this report click here; bit.ly/2tRiHus

An article on Computer World discusses an Augmented Reality trial that DHL Supply Chain, a logistics company, is testing with an Australian client to evaluate the benefits of AR in warehouse operations.

Andrew Weyer, the vice president of DHL Supply Chain, has said that the company’s investment in AR is due to their ‘Industry 4.0’ emerging tech assessment. DHL Supply Chain’s 2014 paper, Augmented Reality in Logistics, outlined 3 key areas of the logistics industry which could benefit most from AR: warehouse operations, transportation optimisation, and last-mile delivery.

In 2015, DHL conducted a three-week pilot in a Ricoh warehouse using Google Glass and Vuzix. The results of this showed an over 25% productivity increase, which then lead to DHL deciding to expand their AR program and conduct further trials, across different industries as well as countries.

Weyer is quoted to have said that RF picking technology has shown to be especially vital in the pharmaceutical industry, as it allows for greater accuracy, which is particularly important because patients’ lives depend on getting the right batch. DHL is responsible for around 80% of the direct distribution of healthcare products to pharmacies in Australia.

The AR pilot is managed by a globally-used operations maturity standard, which introduces many strict disciplines; daily reporting on productivity is useful for actively understanding the impact of different technologies.

A recent article on engineering.com describes how Google Glass should be aimed at a different market than it initially was. Rather than targeting the public, who were not as accepting of the technology as Google predicted, big organisations became interested.

The public found Google Glass unappealing due to the invasion of privacy it could be responsible for, as anyone can record video with them. However, smart glasses have much more advantageous uses in construction, and large companies within this industry will be more likely to invest in the $1300 – $1500-a-pair technology than members of the public.

The article references another article on Wired, which further discusses the increased productivity that companies, e.g. factories, the medical industry, have experienced by using Google Glass.

Through discovering their target industry, Google has helped smart glass providers by narrowing the focus for who they should market towards.

AREA member Upskill announced another successful pilot at GE Aviation using the company’s Skylight platform on Glass Enterprise Edition.

In a press release on Prnewswire.com Upskill announced that this new use case, combined with significant growth in AR and assisted reality implementations across GE, Boeing and many other customers worldwide, is a testament to the immediate return on investment companies in the industrial sector see after deploying Skylight on Glass.

Jay Kothari, Project Lead, Glass said; “Our customers’ success is a direct result of Upskill’s longevity as a Glass Partner dating back to the Explorer Program. Upskill saw the potential for Glass in the workplace early on and has successfully deployed Glass across a range of businesses to help people be more effective and efficient at their jobs,”

Upskill CEO and co-founder Brain Ballard commented, saying; “It is exciting to now have Glass available to enterprises who understand the value of how wearables and industrial IoT can transform a business today. Now, more than ever, organizations can confidently invest in smart glasses to drive meaningful impact and get the most out of their investments towards digital transformation.”

The article discusses how these smart glass implementations span a wide range of use cases across GE Businesses—from topbox cabinet wiring, to warehouse picking and kitting, to field repair and maintenance. In the case of GE Aviation, age-old tools are now becoming connected, and interacting digitally with people who build and repair aircraft engines. Mechanics tested Skylight on Glass combined with a WiFi-enabled torque wrench to optimally tighten bolts while performing routine assembly and maintenance tasks.

To view the new case study click here.

In a recent article, AGCO a Minnesota based manufacturer of agricultural equipment, announced that the use of Glass-assisted reality wearables has helped increased workers productivity and accuracy while performing complex assemblies.

According to the article in a manufacturing workplace, the ability to be both efficient and see the details in assembly work  is critical to success. They believe that training employees from day one, using artificial assistance tools can be a good way to get them accustomed to the future of work.

AGCO reports that Glass wearable use has led to a 50% reduction in new employee training time and a 30% reduction in task processing. AGCO’s Director of Business Process Improvement Peggy Gulick said that the use of smart glasses in employee development is highly effective, particularly for new hire training, multi-operational concepts and new product launches.

To read the article and watch a video on AGCO click the link here.

The valuation of the Global Augmented Reality Market is estimated to reach USD 124.37 billion by 2022 growing at a CAGR of 76.60% between 2016 and 2022, according to a new market report.

The global Augmented Reality Market report has been composed based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry professionals. The primary focus of the market report is to define and specify Past-Current Size, Augmented Reality Shares, Price, Segment & Forecast to 2022.

The report offers a detailed analysis of the Augmented Reality market dynamics which will influence the market during the forecast season and gives a proper understanding of the Augmented Reality major players, dominant Augmented Reality market segments, diverse geographic regions and Augmented Reality market size (revenue).

Augmented Reality market Key Players analysis

• Google and Inc.
• IBM Corporation
• Infinity Augmented Reality and Inc.
• Blipper.com Ltd.
• Metaio GmbH
• Microsoft
• Corporation
• Sony
• Corporation
• SamsungQualcomm
• Inc.Apple and Inc.

To read the report in full click here

Readers may be interested in a whitepaper named ‘Augmented Reality Technologies Offer Industry Changing Applications’.  The key topic area is advancing workforces with Smart Glasses. The author is Zachary Wassenberg of Burns McDonnell, a specialist construction engineering company.

The document discusses a range of topics including:

• Smart Glass Technology Terms
• Safety: Improving construction environments
• Disaster Recovery: Speeding emergency response
• Peer-to-peer Communication: Opening doors to remote collaboration
• Construction management: Helping projects run smoother
• Asset management: Improving maintenance and extending equipment life
• What’s next for Smart Glasses

The author of the whitepaper, Zachary Wassenberg, works in substations and Augmented Technologies, focusing on transmission and distribution engineer-procure-construction (EPC) projects.

You can download the whitepaper here.

AREA member Appearition released a 5 minute read blog this week where they interviewed Tomi T Ahonen with 5 questions.  Tomi T Ahonen is “a thought leader in Tech Space with a distinct passion for Augmented Reality”. He’s the author of 12 books on mobile.  

Topics covered include

• How the Augmented Reality Industry has evolved over the past 5 years
• Where he’d like to see the industry in the next 5 years
• The more influential players in this industry
• Where he sees the most potential for development
• Top 3 benefits of AR technology
• Challenges faced by companies looking to adopt Augmented Reality at an enterprise level
• Thoughts and advice for newcomers in the industry

Tomi T Ahonen believes that ‘AR is truly magical. As such, it appeals remarkably strongly to young people.’  With discussions on how AR is ‘illustrative’ it really is worth a read!

To read the interview in full click here.

AREA members Atheer have announced their acquisition with SpaceView.  SpaceView is a company which creates technologies that allow other organisations to combine their digital and physical work spaces which then transforms their mobile industrial professionals work.

According to WeAreWVProud.com this acquisition will allow Atheer customers to enhance ways they visualize and place 3D virtual objects in the real world, creating richer Mixed Reality experiences. This acquisition means that Atheer will have extended their growing portfolio of innovative AR and MR technologies and capabilities. The article believes that SpaceView have held several patents relating to the representation of 3D objects in 2D environments which will complement Atheer’s own patent portfolio.

Soulaiman Itani, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Atheer said “We’re constantly looking for ways to enhance our offerings and SpaceView has an amazing product and solid team for us to build on. By bringing this new technology to our AiR products, we’ll be able to give our customers the ability to build better mixed reality experiences across the broadest range of smart glass and other AR platforms.”