In early 2014, SAP and Vuzix began to collaborate on the development of warehouse picking systems using the M100 to streamline operations and increase efficiencies in logistics. The partners in this project announced in a press release that Bechtle is the first company to put the system into full scale production for warehouse picking support.

In the company’s logistics hub, located at company headquarters in Neckarsulm, Bechtle, Germany’s largest B2B IT service provider, is using information presentation and real world detection, a preliminary form of Augmented Reality, with the Vuzix M100.

According to the release this is the world’s first live deployment of SAP’s mobile AR Warehouse Picker app.

In the announcement issued by Bechtle, the company also mentions that it is deploying Epson Moverio technologies in its premises but provides no details about the use cases or the stage and possible outcomes of deployment. It suggests that it is also exploring the use of Augmented Reality in other warehouse processes. The additional use cases include product receiving, warehouse stocking and complex order deliveries.

In this post on TechCrunch, investor Court Westcott explains why Augmented Reality will be important for everyone. Westscott is excited about the potential for Augmented Reality to make information more accessible more quickly to more people. The post compares the impact of what he terms the “Law of Information Accessibility” with Moore’s Law which is commonly understood, even by those who are not involved in information technology.

Westscott, one of the investors in Metaio, which was acquired by Apple earlier in 2015, then proposes that with computer vision being added to so many new devices and services, the shift in information accessibility will profoundly change humans. It will, Westscott suggests, be analogous to when evolutionary pressure resulted in animals with sight surviving better than those without. Westscott concedes that the equivalent of a “Cambrian explosion” in human knowledge as a result of vastly improved information accessibility, will only begin when technologies converge sufficiently to deliver cost effective and highly optimized hands-free and head-worn displays.

The period which marked a burst of evolutionary change in life forms on Earth, known as the “Cambrian explosion,” lasted about 53 million years. Fortunately, technology (including Moore’s law) is advancing quickly. And, although no one knows precisely when display devices will be suitable for sustained use by everyone for 100% information accessibility, we can assert with confidence that at least some rare and complex tasks can already be supported and improved by intermittent professional use of existing devices using computer vision and Augmented Reality.

Bosch has announced that it plans to acquire a minority stake in Reflekt GmbH, a provider of Augmented Reality services and software with which it has been working for the past two years.

In the press release issued by Bosch Dr. Eng. Hans-Peter Meyen, Member of the Divisional Board of the Bosch Automotive Aftermarket division is quoted as predicting that enterprise Augmented Reality in all industries and, more specifically, in the automotive aftermarket, will save time and reduce costs. The release goes on to describe the Common Application Platform (CAP) developed by the two partners. As part of the total solution for enterprise and industry customers, Bosch offers licensing of the CAP system combined with consulting, engineering and complete authoring services.

Automotive industry news outlets covered the announcement, demonstrating the interest level in this development. In light of the global media coverage and high interest in the latest automotive technology industry trends at CES, visitors may see demonstrations and learn more about the Bosch Automotive Aftermarket division’s Augmented Reality system in the Bosch CES booth in Las Vegas Convention Center North Hall.

DHL Germany has been getting Augmented Reality-enabling technology into the hands of users for several years through pilots and even in live logistics workflows. The company has announced that it is expanding its new technology demonstration and maturation initiatives with a new Innovation Center in Singapore.

The center will showcase some of the latest technologies that the global company has adopted to improve productivity including Augmented Reality for drivers to learn how to use forklifts, smart glasses to detect correct parcels, and self-driving vehicles.

After a three-month trial involving up to 30 employees in various areas such as windshields or driveshafts of the Wolfsburg plant, Volkswagen has issued a press release stating that it has determined the system to be effective and in the near future plant logistics personnel will use the system for order picking. According to the release “the objective is to further improve process security in production.”

The system may have been developed in house because there is no mention of a software integrator or hardware partner. And, while the announcement states that the system trialled and proposed a 3D element, the images provided to accompany the release are of a user wearing Google Glass, which does not have support for 3D images or 3D capture.

One of the interesting components of the announcement indicates that the Works Council, the equivalent of a worker’s union, was also involved in the pilot. A spokesperson attests that the use of the system was voluntary and favorably received. It seems that health, safety and occupational medicine criteria have yet to be established but that could follow when feedback from employees is gathered after daily use.

To be clear, the profile of Jomi Holt published on the XOEye Technologies blog is not that of a daily Augmented Reality user. But it’s not terribly far.

Jomi Holt is an Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) technician at Lee Company. Lee Company has integrated wearable technology solutions from XOEye Technologies with their field service teams, making the use of remote experts a natural extension of the problem-solving process for their field technicians. Holt is one of the first to embrace and to use the technology on a daily basis. Technicians with less experience than Holt are able to contact him or one another with their XOEye software, using a Vuzix M-100’s camera to capture video, photographs and sounds or to transmit them in real time as part of a session.

Lee Company’s president, Richard Perko, has aspirations to put in a triage center using the XOEye system. From the center, experts will be able to spend their time mentoring and assisting a larger number of field technicians and improving customer outcomes.

Although not part of their stated plans, it will not be difficult for Lee or others to extend the capabilities and the scenarios described in this post to include Augmented Reality features.

Lockheed Martin continues to develop its Augmented Reality programs. In this post on the Washington Post website, the company is promoting its research on the benefits of training military personnel using the technology. The short editorial features several projects in the past and mentions that researchers at Lockheed Martin’s Human Immersive Lab continue to invest in new features to reduce time to train and improve pilot performance.

The post also quotes James Oliver, director of the Virtual Reality Applications Center at Iowa State University, which conducts Augmented Reality effectiveness and impact studies for industry leaders (such as AREA sponsor member Boeing).

UI Labs, a Chicago-based research and commercialization collaborative organization, bringing universities, industry and government together, is turning its attention to Augmented Reality. At the Digital Manufacturing Design Innovation Institute (DMDII), a manufacturing research laboratory within UI Labs, researchers are studying how Augmented Reality can support and improve heavy equipment design and service.

In an editorial on Equipment World blog, Wayne Grayson, online editor, describes what he was shown during a recent DMDII tour. He reports that Caterpillar is actively researching the use of Augmented Reality to train service technicians. A video published in conjunction with the release of the editorial illustrates the use cases and shows performance. Grayson was able to see virtual objects on screen in order to isolate the part of the machine in need of service, then to see an outline of parts for which the service technician is looking. Once located, a list of steps assist the technician with the workflow.

OPS Solutions, Augmented Reality technology provider and integrator of Light Guide Systems, is prominently featured in a post written by Sarah Webster, the editor in chief of the Manufacturing Engineering web site, to promote the maturity of Industry 4.0, or the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Webster’s timely feature, which is republished by the Huffington Post, is also designed to raise awareness about October 2, 2015, designated as Manufacturing Day.

The recognition that Augmented Reality is a useful way to help humans interface with the sophisticated machines around them in an important manufacturing industry publication indicates that manufacturing leaders are no longer shy about connecting their digital content and physical world processes.

Webster goes on to point out that the American government is undertaking a major initiative to accelerate adoption of the latest information technology trends, including Augmented Reality, in its manufacturing industry.

Research about driver distraction as a result of Augmented Reality in windshields compiled by the New York Times earlier in 2015 has been fueling a public debate about the benefits of using the technology to present information. The technology package, which has been introduced in the latest models of Lexus, BMW, Cadillac, Mercedes and Audi, among others, is proposed to make driving safer by reducing drivers’ need to look down for information. One of the use cases is the appearance of red arrows on the road when the driver departs from their designated lane. Algorithms that include motion detection and infrared vision could also alert drivers to roadside hazards. Jaguar’s heads-up display technology, for example, notifies the driver if a nearby pedestrian could be at risk of being hit.

In the latest feature story on the topic to be published by the media giant, the author points out that despite concerns expressed by opponents of the technology, safety trade organizations and the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which could publish guidelines in the future, are only beginning to research the issues.

While these groups and agencies are exploring the possibility of performing studies, Continental AG, which supplies head-up display components for automakers including BMW, Renault and Mercedes, has been conducting extensive research on driver distraction and designing interfaces to optimize benefits while reducing risk. According to spokespeople interviewed for the article, the technology will be included in 2017 models but not widely promoted as a competitive advantage.