1Minuut is bringing real-life experiences virtually to patients that can’t enjoy them in person by allowing patients to view real-time POV video streamed remotely by the Vuzix M300 Smart Glasses. Genzõ through their unique social communication platform which was designed to make POV video sharing mobile easy and safe to implement for customers. 1Minuut’s Genzõ’s mobile platform is unique and provides a new innovative and reliable method to connect patients, bring positive experiences and enable patients to watch through the eyes of others from anywhere.

Another aspect of 1Minuut Genzõ mobile platform is delivering telemedicine patient care services remotely and hands-free by connecting a doctor in the field to a nurse and patient in the doctor’s office or patient facility to augment patient care and save lives.  Through the M300 and Genzõ mobile platform ambulatory nurses are instantly connected to a doctor that can; observe the patient; provide immediate feedback or care instruction; and act faster and more appropriately.  This technology can also help bridge the labor shortage gap by allowing doctors to remotely service more patients because the solution instantly removes travel time, which would otherwise be required by a doctor to come visit the patient at their physical location.

1Minuut has worked closely with the Dutch healthcare industry over the last four years to develop Genzõ and over the past twelve months 1Minuut has successfully piloted and placed dozens of Vuzix M300 Smart Glasses into operations across the Dutch healthcare industry. The Genzõ, a mobile platform solution paired with the Vuzix M300 Smart Glasses has proven in actual field deployments to be extremely safe, reliable and enjoyable for customers as well as patients. After four years of development and one year of field testing this innovative Smart Glasses based solution is now being implemented across the healthcare industry as a new way to deliver care that improves the efficiency and quality of care and appreciation of life for patients.

The combination of the Vuzix M300 Smart Glasses and the Genzõ mobile platform enables real-time audio, first person Point of View (POV) video streaming and file sharing that is easy, mobile and safe.  Through collaboration with Deloitte Assuring Medical Apps Netherlands, the Genzõ mobile platform is also an extremely safe and GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) ready application.

Read the full press release here.

The author quite rightly points out that there is also huge emphasis on enabling enterprise decision-makers to better understand how to leverage maximum ROI via AR initiatives.  This is in line with The AREA’s own ROI research which was directed by what enterprises were looking for.  Mozenix have their own infomration about ROI – the ROI of mobile AR: ARKIt verses ARCore.

“As more AR prototyping projects mature into full scale productions, the commercial benefits of the technology become increasingly clear.

For big businesses, kick-starting an AR initiative can bring about wide ranging commercial benefits including the creation of new revenue streams, the ability to grow existing streams of revenue and cost reduction. These commercial benefits, particularly in the context of industry 4.0, can be realised through the deployment of AR to bring about process efficiency gains and to enhance existing safety procedures and practices.”

The article states that now is a very good time to kick start projects in AR.

The piece goes on to mention a specific industrial example of Aberdeen based business Return to Scene Ltd who are deploying AR within the oil and gas sector.

Read the full article on the Mozenix blog https://mozenix.com/augmented-reality-industry-4-0-what-it-means-for-ctos/

A customised app allowed the project team to then view and check a section of the project’s MEPH work.

The team used an image tracker to superimpose the holographic BIM model onto the soffit of the ceiling.

This allowed the project team to walk through the building wearing the Microsoft HoloLens headset, which acts as a self-contained holographic computer, to check and audit the actual built product against the original design.

The headset can record what the wearer is seeing and is fully interactive, enabling any changes to be communicated to the design team.

Trevor Strahan, head of BIM at BakerHicks said: “The success of this trial marks an exciting step in our journey in exploring the possibilities HoloLens technology could bring to our industry.

“We have been quick to recognise the benefits that ‘virtual world’ technology can deliver and apply it in a ‘real world’ environment.

“We’ve been working on developing Augmented Reality for a while now and it is really exciting to see all that come to fruition.”

Steffan Speer, Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure’s business improvement director said: “The benefits mixed reality could bring to our teams and customers are vast – including remote conferencing, construction design and installation reviews along with the presentation of construction models via holograms.

“I’m looking forward to our subsequent trials as we look to develop these exciting capabilities further.”

The system they’ve developed links an on-scene medical professional with the world’s leading experts through a headset worn by the physically present medic. In time, this method could replace the somewhat unwieldy telestrators that characterize real-time telemedicine today. In that sense, the project is a clear step toward world-class medical care distributed to those in high-stress situations everywhere, no matter how remote.

The Purdue system uses a transparent headset screen that gives the present medic the ability to see the patient in front of them overlaid with feedback from the off-site expert. The consulting expert, who might be anywhere in the world, uses an interactive video monitor that displays the patient and allows feedback to be given in real time. Even more impressive, the system uses vision algorithms to ensure that procedural notes are displayed in the relevant location in the operating doctor’s field of view. In other words, the headset helps organize the information from the mentor in a way that’s easy to understand for the mentee. This naturally increases effectiveness and reduces the likelihood of mistakes in a situation in which a patient’s life could hang in the balance.

Read more and watch videos on the full article on engineering.com

Semcon has experienced increased demand for digital content and live interaction from its customers and has invested heavily in AR/VR development to be able to visualize information. The partnership entitles Semcon to market and promote XMReality Remote Guidance and for XMReality to distribute and visualize content from Semcon in XMReality Remote Guidance. This way XMReality’s offering is broadened to encompass a solution where technical digital information and instructions, such as service instructions, can be visualized within the tool, thus empowering users to work smarter.

“We are very happy to start this collaboration with Semcon. Their capabilities to visualize information is a perfect match with our AR-enabled remote guidance tool. The agreement is therefore in line with our strategy to partner with companies that add value to our offering”, says Johan Castevall, CEO XMReality.

“Together with our expertise in product information, our collaboration creates new opportunities for our customers and their end users. AR makes it even easier to support for example service technicians by sharing and visualizing the right information at the right time”, says David Sondén, General Manager Product Information Sweden at Semcon.

“Our customers are in the forefront of digitalization. The joint offering together with Semcon enables improved digital service differentiation for our customers. Semcon are an important partner in our growing international eco system”, closes Johan Castevall.

The agreement does not imply any revenues or cost for the parties at the time of signing. Revenues will be generated from joint customer projects when new customers subscribe for the XMReality Remote Guidance software.

Enterprises with large mobile and deskless workforces are beginning to move away from the use of traditional devices like smartphones and tablets towards a new wave of mobility …. wearable and immersive technology, including body-worn sensors, AR glasses, VR headsets, exoskeletons, and more.

The potential is enormous: Hands-free, heads-up technology to reshape how work gets done, how decisions are made, and how you engage with coworkers, customers and partners.

Read the full press release about this important event in the calendar for all enterprises interested in how wearables can improve their business processes – and find out which businesses will be exhibiting at EWTS 2018, hosted by AREA member BrainXChange (member profile here).

Joshi writes: “The logistics industry can be considered as the lifeline of global business activities, as it is responsible for the smooth and efficient flow of goods down the supply chain, from the primary producer to the ultimate consumer.

Innovations in engineering are improving the mechanical aspects of the industry by making logistical operations faster, smarter, and more efficient. To complement this progress, the use of AR in logistics will improve the human aspect of the business to further improve the operational performance and meet the ever-evolving customer expectations.

Two sections are discussed and AR’s application and role in both: Transportation and Storage.

AR in Logistics: Transportation

The primary challenge for logistics companies, regardless of size and segment, is concerning transportation efficiency. Developments in the automobile industry are resulting in the emergence of vehicles that provide better performance and improved on-board diagnostics. Making the most of these machines can only be possible by enabling their operators, i.e., the drivers to function more efficiently.

The most obvious application in this area is the use of heads-up displays for vehicle operators, to make navigation and performance data visible on the go. By using AR-powered displays on windshields or equipping drivers with smart glasses, drivers can navigate better and monitor vehicle performance to make timely maintenance decisions.

Furthermore, AR can also help drivers to deal with unexpected breakdowns by providing virtual assistance through a smartphone camera. A recent example of such an application is the “Vehicle Lens” app by Mercedes that enables heavy vehicle owners to get an AR view of the performance and maintenance information by positioning their smartphone cameras in different angles.

AR in Logistics: Storage

The storage and sorting facilities are as important for logistics organizations as the vehicles. Warehouses give logistics providers a place to pack, sort, and temporarily store goods while waiting for transit. Warehouse employees traditionally have had to use printed or written labels, and recently RFID readers to identify and sort packages.

This process can be replaced with the use of smart glasses, which can be used to visually identify packages in a hands-free, convenient, and efficient manner. According to a recent report, projected logistics to globally account for 24% of smart glass shipments in 2017.

Global logistics leader DHL is among the first companies to test and standardize the use of smart glasses in the industry. The use of these glasses has been reported to make the process of manual sorting much easier and quicker, contributing to an increase in overall productivity.

It is evident that augmented reality will have a role to play in the future of logistics. The aforementioned applications are just a few of the numerous applications AR can have in the logistics sector.

In addition to adopting AR, logistics companies should also incorporate other technologies within it. For instance, the impact of IoT on VR can be immense and can make the processes smarter and more profitable.

The author makes the link between recent developments in AR, uses in the workplace and its significant role in mobile app development.

The author argues that even in cases where AR is not yet that popular, with time it will have a stronghold in business enterprises and institutes too. AR has a vital role to play in mobile applications also. Hence it is a matter of time when it will capture the app market.

See – The original article on Customer Think.

See – The AREA’s use cases for training.

The scenarios explained in the article include:

1. Pilot in emergency based on FedEx Express cargo airline – Smoke Assured Vision Enhanced Display (SAVED) which delivers vision and oxygen to a pilot in an emergency.
2. AR helping humans to interface with IoT data collected from devices more quickly e.g. Amazon and Vuzix collaboration
3. Engineering walking through complex designs
4. Navigating factory floors e.g. at Volkswagen for maintenance, inventory, inspections, etc.
5. Porch home improvement startup’s collaboration with AR provider Streem can provide quotes and fixes even before a contractor has turned up, using machine learning and computer vision.
6. Boeing has reduced wire repair time by 25% in the belly of their planes by using handsfree AR solution powered by Skylight software by Upskill, one of the members of The AREA.
7. Mixed reality hard hat – French company GA Smart Buildings are achieving more precise quality control over the assembly of mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) systems as well as cast concrete.
8. Paccar used AR in the design phase of their huge semis and built a hologram that’s the full size of an 18-wheeler, replacing this part of the design phase that once was done with clay models.
9. AcuVein has developed a mix of laser scanning and AR to reduce the number of failed attempts at sticking a needle in a patient’s vein with impressive success rates.

The full article can be read on CIO.com.

Growing awareness and appreciation of AR’s value accelerates. There are use cases where Augmented Reality applications help boost—and simplify—workflow ensuring less time is spent from idea through prototyping to construction and finished product.

The article looks at how widespread is Augmented Reality in manufacturing before looking at examples of Augmented Reality in manufacturing including automotive, construction and agriculture.

The article concludes by noting that the boon of using Augmented Reality for manufacturing is restricted only by the limited number of enterprise-level Augmented Reality hardware suppliers and the price. However, there are practical apps right here, right now.

We should expect significant progress of AR hardware together with price decreases in the next few years. Be prepared for the increased demand when it arrives.