This news item is taken from a press release by Business Wire dated June 7 2016. Research and Markets announced a new report “Wearable Devices for Enterprise and Industrial Markets.” Worldwide shipments for enterprise and industrial wearables will increase from 2.3 million in 2015 to 66.4 million units by 2021. A cumulative total of 171.9 million wearables is expected to be shipped for use specifically in enterprise and industrial environments. These figures present a significant boost when compared with previous forecasts from 2015.

A summary of the research report is available here.

• Wearables are now being rolled out commercially on a significant commercial scale, which has bolstered the figures as predicted above.
• A direct quote from the report states “More than 66 Million Wearable Devices Will Be Shipped Annually for Use in Enterprise and Industrial Environments by 2021.”
• Key questions addressed that will be relevant for members and enterprise users include how the value chain is evolving around enterprise and industrial wearables, and which regions will see the biggest growth and the key challenges that could impact wearables growth.

Markets mentioned in the report for which there are applications include corporate wellness, manufacturing, warehouses, field maintenance, mobile workforce management, holographic modelling, first person communications and workplace authentication.

The report will be suitable for a variety of groups such as manufacturers of wearables and smart glasses, enterprise IT systems integrators, Augmented Reality software companies, developers, mobile network operators and the investor community.

Topics included in the report cover market and technology issues, key industry players and market forecasts.

Of the companies mentioned in the research report, three are AREA Members: APX Labs, Augmate and DAQRI. Other companies that are mentioned in the report include: Apple, Epson, Fitbit, Google, Jiff, Microsoft, Nymi, SAP, Salesforce.com, SmartCap, Thalmic Labs and Vuzix.

Florida-based Magic Leap has acquired Israel-based cybersecurity software solutions provider North-Bit, according to a Geektime report.

North-Bit, founded in 2012, was in the news in March 2016 when it claimed it had exploited the Android Stagefright bug. Security researchers successfully demonstrated how exploitation of the bug would allow remote hacking of older versions of Android smartphonse. North-Bit specializes in computer forensics, reverse engineering and CPU optimizations.

Since Magic Leap has recently raised a large amount of capital (Series C in February 2016 raised $793m) bringing their market valuation to $4.5 billion. Investors in Magic Leap’s latest round include Alibaba Group, Warner Brothers, Fidelity Management and Research Company, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, and Andreessen Horowitz.

The fact that Augmented Reality has multiple uses for enterprise suggests that it makes sense for Magic Leap to improve cyber security aspects of their software. The report suggests that future collaborations and acquisitions may be in the cards owing to the large amount of investment capital having been raised.

Each year Sikorsky Innovations, the advanced research organization of Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin Company, conducts a contest, the Entrepreneurial Challenge. The purpose of the contest is to identify emerging technologies that could be used in the company’s helicopters and to partner with companies which are developing these technologies. In 2015 the challenge identified Augmented Reality for manufacturing as one of the four areas of interest. AREA member iQagent received recognition as one of the most promising companies with a solution in this segment.

For the 2016 challenge, Sikorsky Innovations has once again selected an Augmented Reality segment. Rather than mobile solutions, the challenge is to identify the best companies developing transparent or on-glass visualization technologies. According to the Challenge web site description, the use cases are pilots who need to maintain visual awareness while obtaining new information and passengers seeking to see information overlaid on the landscape through which they are traveling.

The company invites companies developing hardware and/or software solutions that can transform any hard, transparent surface into an on-demand, interactive data center to submit applications on or before May 20, 2016.

Most people do not think of manufacturing as an industry eager to adopt the latest cutting edge technology, however, Industry 4.0 and digital manufacturing are changing that perception of the industry. Augmented Reality is one of the companion technology suites that manufacturers are studying and considering for deployment, according to an interview published on the Manufacturing.net portal.

In the interview, Index AR Solutions‘ COO, Dexter Liley, explains how “the second half of 2015 was characterized by significantly increased awareness and understanding that this isn’t another fad.” He pointed to the acquisitions and the introduction of solutions such as Microsoft Hololens as contributing to the increased attention that manufacturers are paying to Augmented Reality.

When asked where he expects to see the first wave of adoption, Liley predicts “industries that still require a significant amount of work be performed by skilled workers will benefit the most.” More specifically, he says that his company is targeting heavy manufacturing, building and facility construction and oil and gas construction and operations. In some situations, Liley suggests, machines could be replaced by workers assisted with Augmented Reality-enabled systems. He also predicted that AR will be an “industrial staple” within 10 years.

California lawmakers and agencies are poised to improve their service to citizens with Augmented Reality, according to a post on TechWire.net, the digital magazine companion to TechWire magazine focusing on the public-sector technology industry in California.

The post summarizes a presentation made by Gregory Curtin, founder and CEO of Civic Resource Group, during the Government Transformation conference in Sacramento, California. Curtain explained that Augmented Reality helps tap the full potential of the network of Internet of Things and can offer integrated, seamless solutions to citizens. One of the use cases proposed is to permit citizens to review plans to invest in new infrastructure such as roads and bridges. The workforce of government agencies could also experience significant productivity gains by having their manuals, expert advice, maps and diagrams readily accessible and superimposed on the real world.

Curtin also published a post on LinkedIn Pulse about Smart Cities and their use of Augmented Reality.

TechProResearch has released a very interesting report with results of a fresh survey in which over 200 enterprise respondents were asked about their:

– Familiarity and experience with VR and AR
– Future plans for VR and AR
– Timeline for adoption of VR and AR
– VR and AR applications of interest
– Importance of cost in decision to use VR and AR
– How vendors can best help organizations

The results, summarized with graphs and tables in this TechProResearch blog post, are very interesting. They show that 38% are very familiar with Augmented Reality and 42% are somewhat familiar with the technology. Further, twenty percent of the respondents are considering its use in the next 12 months, ten percent say it will be in the next 3 years and a full 37% say it is on their strategic roadmap but no timeline has been set for introduction.

See Teena Maddox, the lead analyst, offering her synopsis of the report in this video post.

This post on the Talking Logistics blog starts with a very concise and useful definition of Augmented Reality and clarifies how it is different from Virtual Reality. Then the author, Kristi Montgomery, Vice President of Kenco Innovation Labs, proceeds to offer the top three use cases for the technology in logistics.

In Montgomery’s analysis the top three use cases are:

1. Order picking
2. Equipment repair
3. Safety and quality control

The post describes how each of these processes can be streamlined by decreasing need for travel, increasing accuracy and reducing costs.

Augmented Reality’s integration into future engineering and manufacturing processes is described in a recent report entitled “Engineering and Manufacturing +2025: Building the World” published by DHL’s Trend Research Group. The report begins by describing Industry 4.0 and digital manufacturing trends. It predicts that in the future many work processes will be increasingly supported by information provided via Augmented Reality.

The analysts suggest that Augmented Reality is likely to increase efficiency but tapping the potential may involve a re-design of production chains. One of the motivations for increasingly developing and integrating Augmented Reality, the report states, is that it may enable lower-skilled workers to perform more complex tasks.

To support its assertions and forecast, the report provides evidence published by Boeing, an AREA founding sponsor member. Boeing mechanics have been equipped with AR-enabled tablets on the assembly line to evaluate their suitability for reducing reliance on highly trained professionals for certain tasks.

Putting trained professionals in the field is costly. Sending two to the same site is safer but may double the cost to the customer or service provider. The challenge of insuring lone workers may be reduced using smart glasses and cameras.

In this post on the Field Service News blog, Editor in Chief Kirk Oldland points out that field workers using Augmented Reality could receive urgent notifications or step-by-step instructions without diverting their attention to a tablet or paper manual. Furthermore, using hands-free displays, the worker’s both hands would be free and could prevent errors in high-risk environments such as on an electricity pylon or scaffolding.

The same post also suggests that “smart garments” worn by field service professionals could also play a role. Specially designed garments for field service professionals could be sending sensor data about the worker’s body and whereabouts as well as keeping cables hidden where they will not be caught by objects, and could store extra battery packs or accessories.

In a previous news item, we noted that SAP, Vuzix and Bechtle have reached the level of confidence and maturity in technologies that the SAP Warehouse Picking app has been moved into production environments. In this video released by Bechtle the use of hands-free displays with information and support for Augmented Reality assistance is shown.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCcXwDMu5b4

Bechtle’s head of logistics, Klaus Kratz, speaks to the benefits as well as the vision that the company has for reducing errors, increasing efficiencies in the company’s operations. The spokesperson also shared in a conference call on January 26 that warehouse employees are asked to participate in extensive studies of its effectiveness, including conducting a visual check on all orders to detect if the system is introducing any errors. The employees also complete surveys about their use of the technology, comfort level and to obtain feedback for future features.