Intel is expected to disclose details about its Remote Eyesight Augmented Reality smart glasses at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in San Francisco in August. It has been said that the AR smart glasses look like a cross between Google Glass and Microsoft’s HoloLens. They use Intel’s Collaboration Suite for WebRTC video capabilities.

Intel’s Remote EyeSight is built around the idea of interactive remote collaboration using smart glasses, possibly like using Skype on a wearable. Tech experts at Intel indicate this could be used in areas such as medicine and repairs. Intel’s smart glasses are intended to solve the issue of the HoloLens heavy headset restricting movement.

The company aims to “transform Intel’s enterprise collaboration experiences with secure, cost-effective, hands-free and Augmented Reality technologies.”

Intel has acquired startups with experience in the field, such as Replay Technologies, recently acquired by Intel. Replay Technologies develops technology used in sports replays.

An article in Forbes by Aaron Tilley mentions a number of AREA members. Augmented Reality is expected to be a $100 billion industry by 2020 (ABI Research), with much of the growth occurring in industry. The article focuses on how utilities are using Augmented Reality technology. AREA member Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) is conducting a large-scale experiment with global utilities. EPRI is a nonprofit organization funded by the electric utility industry. They hope to have 15 utilities participating and the study will be conducted over 18 months.

The focus is on improving efficiency and reducing the error rate of the workforce. The study is designed to see how the technology could improve efficiency and reduce the error rate of its workforce. Augmented Reality assists field utility workers in maintenance, repair and building. The electric utility business needs to maintain, repair and build massive infrastructure. Speeding up these processes is vital in making efficiency savings considering much of the equipment is expensive, complicated and old.

The article also mentions that EPRI will be using devices from Atheer Air and DAQRI, who are also both AREA members. John Simmins at EPRI is quoted as saying “This technology will be as commonplace as smartphones are now. You’re going to see AR everywhere.”

On Monday, July 11th, 2016, CNBC aired a live exclusive interview with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt. Many interesting viewpoints regarding Augmented Reality in the enterprise were discussed and here are highlights below:

• Industrial scenarios, education, training, manufacturing, architecture and industrial design are going to be fundamentally changed by Augmented Reality.
• You can take the cycle time of doing repairs on a utility or refinery down by 10%. This is because you could fix everything right the first time and have a chance to visualize and manage the human data interface. That’s probably worth around $50 billion.
• The industrial applications of this are going to be worth billions of dollars of productivity.
• Commenting on how far off we are from widespread adoption of AR and IoT technologies, it’s probably around 24 months.
• There are around 20,000 field engineers repairing MR scanners, gas turbines and jet engines. We are marrying their tasks with service data right now.
• Let’s say to replace the GE installed base today would cost almost $2 trillion. So these assets that are out there, these industrial assets: I mean, the difference between the consumer internet and the industrial internet. if you get sick of your iPhone, you just throw it away and buy another one. You don’t do that with a jet engine or a gas turbine. You need it, you know, 1% more fuel is like gold for you. So our ability to deliver in this distributed global network, more productivity tools, is like gold for our customers.
• Make no mistake, Augmented Reality is going to happen. It is going to happen in the industrial space. It is going to be very productive.

Details of the full transcript and videos of the interview can be found here.

Extract from an article by Peter Brown for Electronics 360.

AREA member NGRAIN has developed a new application for Android tablets and smart glasses to be used for industrial 3D content creation. The NGRAIN Viewer allows industrial applications such as those operating heavy equipment and assemblies, to explore the use of smart glasses and 3D content without needing to develop proprietary mobile 3D applications. Since the NGRAIN Viewer is open source for Android, businesses can use the application as a starting point to create industrial applications.

The smart glasses used are the Epson BT-300 that can be worn over regular glasses and come with an OLED display. The Viewer provides the source code to bootstrap a 3D application for Android, load 3D content, view animations, play step-by-step tasks and interact with content from NGRAIN’s Producer Pro software.

According to Epson, the biggest barrier to Augmented Reality for smart glasses is the cost of content creation. By using the NGRAIN Viewer, the cost is reduced, which it is hoped will enable widespread adoption. NGRAIN’s member profile can be read here.

A press release dated July 12, 2016 reveals that research done by Index AR Solutions forecasts that Augmented Reality in the enterprise will be a $105 billion market for U.S. companies within 15 years.

The research states that those enterprises that choose to be early adopters will gain competitive advantage within their industries. The breakdown of $105 billion is portioned to $49 billion in hardware, $11 billion in software and $45 billion in services. The research authors are Index AR Solutions President and CEO Dan Arczynski, Executive Vice President and COO Dexter Lilley and Director of Operations John Arczynski.

A summary of the key findings are as follows:

• Enterprises can take advantage of current Augmented Reality technology now and achieve “dramatic top line and bottom line results”
• Augmented Reality is already ready for enterprise implementation, and ROI can be proven with revenue, cost and quality improvements
• There are no sectors and industries that cannot benefit from Augmented Reality
• The value of Augmented Reality can be realized with the first application and every subsequent one, often without large investment

The Index AR Solutions market perspective will be an interesting read for enterprise innovators keen on adopting the technology to gain competitive advantage in their industry.

The market perspective can be downloaded from the Index AR Solutions website. Index AR Solutions is teamed with Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS), one of AREA’s members. Their profile can be read here.

A whitepaper published on AREA Member BrainXChange’s website is available online at the following link. The white paper is relevant for all companies wishing to understand more about the potentials of using smart eyewear in the enterprise, with particular applications in field service, manufacturing and logistics.

Some information that is covered in the short whitepaper can be found below:

• Information about how smart eyewear can be used in the workplace
• Types of applications for smart eyewear in enterprise
• Companies already making use of smart glasses
• How and why smart eyewear provides an advantage over smartphones and tablets
• How smart eyewear can benefit organizations, particularly in field service, manufacturing and logistics
• Smart eyewear integration with ERP systems
• Enablement of hands-free, two-way video communications between workers whether together or working remotely
• How cost and efficiency savings are being made
• According to Forrester Research, 14.4 million US workers will utilize smart eyewear in enterprise environments by 2025
• Gartner forecasts that by 2023, 50% of the organizations that could benefit from smart Eyewear will utilize it

AREA Member BrainXChange’s member profile can be accessed here.

An article on Automation World about Augmented Reality in industry may be of interest to many readers. The article was written about PTC’s LiveWorx event in Boston in June 2016, which marked the official go live of PTC’s Vuforia Studio Enterprise AR platform.

The article suggests that Augmented Reality may be the application that creates the need for enterprises to adopt IoT due to its proven application in industry for example industrial activities such as quality inspection, work instructions and training.

Jim Heppelman, president and CEO of PTC, said “We are pursuing Augmented Reality strongly to connect the physical, digital and human experience. Augmented Reality will completely change everything, from engineering to manufacturing to sales.”

The article highlights how their AR platform is integrated with other company software. At the event, Caterpillar demonstrated their use of AR in providing portable power at construction sites and concert events. It is frequently used for operating data for routine maintenance.

According to the article, members of Index AR Solutions highlighted uses cases for AR in industry: inspection/quality assurance, work instruction, training, workflow management, operations, safety and logistics. Based on 50 pilot projects, work instructions and training are the most mature applications of Augmented Reality. A video was shown detailing how AREA member Newport News Shipbuilding uses AR.

The main concluding point was that rather than savings being minor, enterprises must understand that savings are measuring in at 25 – 90% due to the extent to which processes are speeded up, essentially freeing up cash flow.

A recent article by Daniel Newman for Forbes, is aimed at companies considering their options over the potential workplace adoption of Augmented Reality; the article stresses how the blend between AR and the Internet of Things is set to alter workplace environments of the future.

The author takes a realistic and logical standpoint by inviting readers to consider life before mobile phones and smartphones not so long ago. Augmented Reality’s ability to enable access to real time data and to streamline processes will not only positively impact internal business processes, but will likely impact external competition. Enterprises are invited to consider how they will be able to secure competitive advantage in their industry by leveraging AR technology.

The author talks through a number of factors for consideration in any company’s assessment of whether they ought to be the first-mover in terms of enterprise AR adoption in their industry: existing resources, speed of technology and barriers to entry. The final advice for companies is to survey their stakeholders as a means of assessing where technology will have the most impact—and to make realistic assessments of current hardware and infrastructure in supporting the new technology.

The AREA is committed to helping accelerate the global adoption of Augmented Reality in the enterprise: if your company is considering introducing Augmented Reality, the AREA provides a range of use cases and a wide range of information and resources to help get you started and make the right decisions.

A press release dated July 4, 2016, by Zawya reveals that AR and VR will radically change private and public processes in the GCC, according to research firm Frost & Sullivan. GITEX Technology Week experts will highlight ground-breaking use cases at the GITEX Technology Week 2016, which will be held October 16-20 at the Dubai World Trade Center.

Notable information from the article based on the Frost & Sullivan research is:

• The next ten years of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality technology development are set to redefine the future of both business and consumer processes within the GCC region
• Experts from across industries will present at GITEX Technology Week in October 2016 to share their innovative use cases of AR/VR technologies
• AR and VR hardware revenue will reach $2 billion in 2016
• Device shipments to grow to 110 million by 2020
• The report includes quotes from Dr. Grossmann, the first person who streamed a live surgical procedure via Google Glass with an audience of 54,000 virtual viewers
• Programs across industries in the GCC are eager to adopt AR technologies to streamline processes and support employees
• Frost & Sullivan highlights specific initiatives and projects in industries like healthcare and education

The event aims to develop stronger business ties with the immersive technology ecosystem to drive AR, VR and AI innovation. To register for GITEX Technology Week 2016 visit http://www.gitex.com.

A recent blog article by One Fire explores some examples of how Augmented Reality is changing the construction industry.

The blog asserts that innovation, training and marketing can all be revolutionized by Augmented Reality:

1. Marketing: With construction products being so large, marketing departments can now create 3D digital models of products to project, saving money on shipping costs.
2. Project innovation: By superimposing exact measurements and location specifications onto the user’s field of view, this creates a smart field of view, showing the area the work needs to be done. This can greatly improve accuracy in construction.
3. Improved training: Traditionally, training new employees would have involved instruction manuals which are not always appropriate in field roles. Whereas, with Augmented Reality, real time instructions can be superimposed onto the machine or site on which the employee needs to learn and perform so that requisite information appears in your field of vision. Steps of instructions can also be accessed and pointed out as the employee learns a new task.