The following summary relates to a blog item that appeared on AREA Member APX Labs’ website this week. A greater number of organizations, particularly those with a large hands-on workforce, are making use of augmented reality and smart glasses for ways to improve productivity, quality and operational efficiency. Now, configuration and management of smart glasses deployment is set to improve.

A partnership between APX and Airwatch, the largest global enterprise mobility management provider, was set up to ease the IT deployment of smart glasses. Last week at the Connect 2016 conference, Airwatch officially announced it will be building new features in collaboration with several hardware vendors, including Intel and VUZIX Corp, to support smart glasses into their VMware Airwatch enterprise mobility management platform.

APX have extended Airwatch’s management capabilities into their Skylight platform, which powers assisted reality applications on smart glasses. According to APX, the result will be the first fully-integrated enterprise mobility management solution for smart glasses available on the market.

The main drivers for this were APX customer requests from the likes of Boeing, who require methods of transition from pilot implementations to production-level deployment.

Being able to reduce overheads on configurations is an important factor in the industry as a whole. The new roll out will provide benefits in the form of seamless management of smart glasses, compliance with enterprise security policies, and configuration for specific users under the same device management console.

APX believes that this could be the start of making enterprise smart glass deployment more mainstream in the industry as a whole.

AREA member Huawei has been mentioned in an article on petapixel.com after teaming up with Leica for a second time to launch The Max Berek Innovation Lab. 5 months after launching the Huawei P9 smartphone, featuring dual Leica cameras, the companies have announced a partnership in launching a photography research and innovation center.

The article discloses that the lab is located in Leica’s headquarters in Germany, and is named after the German microscopy pioneer Max Berek, creator of Lecia’s first lens. Traditional photography, computational imaging, augmented reality and virtual reality are just a few of the fields in which the lab will be innovating. Improving imaging quality through improved physical optical systems and digital software-based technologies will also be on the agenda for researchers at the lab.

Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei, explains that, “The Max Berek Innovation Lab provides the capacity to establish an even closer partnership with Leica, leading to continuous improvements in image and video quality. As a result, we will deliver the most advanced innovations in the smartphone camera market and bring greater value to consumers.”

A recent article on the BrainXChange website discusses the potential for Augmented and Virtual Reality in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry, particularly head-mounted displays. It explains how current visualization technologies are limited and confined to two-dimensional screens, therefore more advanced tech such as Augmented Reality is significantly more of an advantage in the field. Ways in which AR/VR technology could be useful in the AEC industry mentioned in the article include:

• Helping project managers to view schematics overlaid onto physical structures
• Allowing workers to view instructions for how to install tech
• Training future operators of a building
• Can help at all stages of a building project (design and actual construction)
• Improving both individual and group processes
• Eliminating inefficiencies
• Bridging knowledge gaps
• Streamlining processes
• Enables engineers and designers to easily visualize ideas and make more informed decisions
• Helps avoid rework during construction and customer dissatisfaction
• Can design buildings – e.g. recreating a physical structure using Virtual Reality
• Can remotely test out different design concepts
• Can virtually explore and assess an architectural plan
• Allowing the customer and construction team to thoroughly understand the building design
• Enhancing and speeding up the design process
• Enabling the design team to collaborate remotely
The article concludes by stating that AR/VR tech will be a game-changer for the AEC industry, and will increase innovation in engineers and designers.

AREA member BrainXChange recently interviewed Sam Murley, Digital Acceleration Designer at General Electric (GE). [Link to full interview].

Key points from the interview include:

•  Wearable technology improves productivity and efficiency
•  Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality, and wearable tech are best applied by streamlining the transfer of knowledge and offering vital information in context
• Anywhere information is accessed has the potential to be transformed by wearable tech
• Reducing risk and adding efficiencies are key focuses for pilot programs
• Main challenges of developing tech include:
• Keeping variables consistent (running a pilot as a scientific experiment)
• Scaling down a project without removing key features
• Meeting procedures and policies (e.g. IT security)
• Figuring out which is the best technology to fit the environment/end user
• Prioritising projects
• Researching emerging tech and partnering with new adopters of technology is important
• Smart glasses are key in transforming and mobilizing the workplace
• In future, we will no longer be limited to communicating, connecting, and creating information via physical screens
• Currently, the main issue with wearables is interoperability
• The change from mobile to digital assistants will soon arrive
• Part of the digital innovation strategy of companies should be to cover aspects beyond the interfaces and take calculated risks
• It is predicted that humans and robots will work in collaboration while using wearables at some point in the future

A recent article by PR Newswire reported that the Service Provider Innovation Forum (SPIF) in Silicon Valley presented seven new communications organisations with awards for their technology, management, innovation, and execution.

Over 600 industry experts attended the Telecom Council’s annual SPIFFY Award ceremony, along with the nominees and 50 other global communications companies. Out of 200 startups, 35 were nominated in July earlier this year. Amongst the seven winners was AREA member Atheer, who won the Ground Breaker Award for Engineering Excellence. Other winners include:

• ThinkCX Technologies (the Graham Bell Award for Best Communication Solutions)
• Peel (the Edison Award for Most Innovative Start-Up)
• Loop AI Labs (the San Andreas Award for Most Disruptive Technology)
• CUJO (the Core Award for Best Fixed Telecom Opportunity)
• Simless (the Zephyr Award for Best Mobile Opportunity)
• iControl Networks (the Prodigy Award for the Most Successful SPIF Alumni)
• Telefonica (the Fred and Ginger Award for Most Supportive Carrier)

You can read Atheer’s AREA member profile here.

A recent article by TechCo discusses five key technology trends that should be taken notice of, especially as 2016 has seen a drastic increase in advanced tech development.

These trends are:

• Artificial Intelligence
• Digital health / biotech
• Sports and recreation tech
• Augmented Reality
• The future of transportation

However, the article mainly focuses on Augmented Reality, explaining how its development means it will enable consumers and users to “break out of the confines of our screens.” It goes on to discuss how the increase of AR technology is partially because of our desire to make digital experiences, such as video chats, more human and connected to the real world.
Augmented Reality in comparison Virtual Reality is also briefly mentioned; a range of industries are investing in AR, showing that it has a more promising future than VR. In terms of the healthcare industry, other technologies are being produced, leading to a larger amount of data being collected in order to improve the quality of healthcare.

The French defence and electronics group Safran announced on 19 September that it had acquired a stake in AREA Member Diota. Diota, also a France-based company, specializes in the development of Augmented Reality software for industrial applications.
A link to Diota’s own press release (which is written in French) can be read here. 
The company develops and provides Augmented Reality software solutions for aircraft, automotive, oil & gas, utilities and other heavy industries. The company’s solutions are based on a strong R&D foundation designed to address major technological barriers in the field of Augmented Reality. Diota, established in 2009, has focused on implementing AR-based tools which can be used to improve production processes in a variety of heavy industries, including defence.
Other partners include Dassault Aviation and DCNS Group. Diota also partners with the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives: CEA). Other industry types in which Diota has an established presence include energy, rail, automotive and the chemical industries. More information about Diota can be read on their AREA member profile here.

AREA member Optech 4D get a mention in a publication by BlueToad.com, with the article acknowledging how both Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality are starting to be used within areas of maintenance training, with some MROs even employing such technology for inspection training. Industries are implementing AR into their trainings and day-to-day operations, and it is suggested that this technology may be further used for aviation maintenance training.
Optech4D are said to be using AR to their advantage in the aviation training market, using it not only for training but also in distance learning applications. CEO of Optech4D, Vincent Higgins, says how AR can be used to help revolutionize the future of aircraft maintenance, especially in terms of aviation classroom training, where AR “superimposes images on the real objects and provides a more efficient workforce because of that”. He also speaks of how Optech4D are “really trying to bring in augmented reality in a big way into the MRO space”.
The article also provides other examples of how AR is working its way into aviation training. Lori Brown, an Associate Professor at Western Michigan University’s College of Aviation, is a massive advocate for AR in academic aviation training. She says that the next phase of the college’s maintenance training course will mirror the technology used for automotive maintenance training by BMW, with the use of AR glasses. These glasses will give step-by-step procedures and show students overlays on whichever component they are working on for maintenance. This hands-free device is not only interactive, it also allows them to physically see the information in the real world, over the component being worked on.

A press release by Compass Intelligence issued on September 6 2016 reveals the companies who have won the Compass Intelligence awards featuring the top companies in mobile, IoT, Wearables, Applications and Green Technology.
Congratulations go to all the companies involved, and especially to AREA Member Bosch who won the Industrial IoT Company of the Year.
Stephanie Atkinson, CEO & founder of Compass Intelligence, was quoted in the press release, as saying: “We are extremely excited to recognize those companies who excel among their peers and truly showcase the best in mobile and IoT”.  This announcement comes just ahead of the upcoming CTIA conference in Las Vegas.

In total there are 77 awards. These awards identify the ‘top companies’ in:
1. Mobile devices, software, and Wireless technology
2. Platforms
3. Internet of Things
4. Wearables
5. Green technology: reuse/recycling of devices
6. Connected products
7. Emerging solutions

There is a variety of awards within each section and each of the seven areas of awards were selected by the Compass Intelligence team.

At the AREA we continually sift through industry publications and blogs on the topic of enterprise Augmented Reality. Some news contains product developments as well as historical and background information about AR. Recently, many have focused on Pokémon Go; here is a roundup of articles we thought may interest our readers:

1. On the Metavision blog, an interactive history timeline of AR development is shared.
2. “Enterprise to Drive Augmented Reality Growth,” by Channel News Australia.
3. Prepare for the AR Workplace: The Tech behind Pokemon Go Will Be in Offices Sooner Than You Think.
4. AREA member DAQRI gets a mention in this article about their smart helmet for industrial use.
5. The following article explores how Apple will use technology in the future to secure its long-term growth. Augmented Reality gets a significant mention in its potential to increase iPhone sales. In addition, wearable technology such as smart glasses, which will shape the AR space, will drive further potential for Apple in the future.