An interesting article on EE News website uses Pokémon Go as a springboard to look at how Augmented Reality technology is being used in enterprise, specifically in the energy industry.

Examples quoted include:

• Oak Ridge National Laboratory shows in a video how researchers use the same Geographic Information System (GIS) as in Pokémon Go, to assess water and energy demand.
• NextGen Climate is targeting Pokémon hotspots to find new supporters and hosting events with solar-powered charging stations.
• Eric Abbruzzese, a senior analyst at ABI Research is quoted as saying there is a lot of interest in the energy space. Oil and gas companies are making use of Augmented Reality and according to ABI research, the industrial sector is expected to comprise 44% of smart glasses revenue within five years<./li>

Notably, AREA Member Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has been testing similar technology to boost efficiencies in the electricity industry. Detailed information on their work is given in the article and summarized below:

• John Simmins of EPRI, who is leading their augmented reality testing, gives a number of detailed examples of how AR technology can be used for energy savings in the field.
• For example, after a major storm, workers dispatched to assess damage may not have as much expertise as usual line workers. By using a smart helmet or glasses, they can find hard-to-find power lines or transformers. The information can be sent to HQ with voice command, meaning increased speed, reduced outage time and error reduction.
• Other applications include malfunction detection, training and dramatically reducing the need for experts to travel long distances to make repairs and solve problems, when AR technology means this could be done remotely.
• The DAQRI Smart Helmet is mentioned in the article as being particularly useful in the oil and gas industry where workers require both a hard hat and free hands.

There is also a link to an EPRI video demonstrating inspection equipment with a smart helmet, shown below.

Links to the member company profiles can be accessed here: EPRI profile and DAQRI profile.

AREA member XMReality has partnered with Futura, a converting machinery manufacturer, to develop a new remote support program for Futura’s service locations. The partnership represents a move forward in enabling XMReality to demonstrate the value of its Augmented Reality solutions to the tissue and paper industries.

Futura is a leading global supplier of tissue converting lines. Most of Futura’s machines are located in places far removed from their global service centers. The company strives to visualize a customer’s problem and guide them to a solution without physically having an onsite presence. Niklas Rengfors, VP of Sales & Marketing at XMReality, says that they are constantly trying to improve ease and efficiency of servicing remote assets.

By using XMReality’s AR-enabled remote guidance solution, a technical expert at any of Futura’s service centers can see what a remote individual sees and provide them with visual instructions to carry out tasks such as maintenance. XMReality’s tools are the Futura’s Protablet and an optional set of industrial XMReality hands-free smart glasses.

The service expert transmits back their gestures, drawings and instructions that are visually overlaid on the device image or in the smart glasses viewer. The remote software operates on both Windows and Android devices and can operate in low-bandwidth industrial environments.

For the full press release, see the link.

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.

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.

AREA member APX Labs has been announced by the World Economic Forum as one of its Technology Pioneers at the Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Tianjin, People’s Republic of China on June 27, 2016. The company was one of 30 selected for their potential to significantly impact business and society via new technologies and their ability to advance the “Fourth Industrial Revolution.”

The APX Labs Skylight product was selected for its ability to modernize and upskill the global industrial workforce. Companies such as General Electric, Boeing, Tesla and Shell are already making use of APX Labs’ enterprise wearable technology. Their solutions train and modernize global field service, maintenance and manufacturing personnel via their smart glasses, which deliver line-of-sight information to workers on demand.

Brian Ballard, CEO, will attend the Annual Meeting of the New Champions and will participate in the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Switzerland in 2017. The company has also announced the appointments of a new executive chairman and vice chairman, Magid Abraham and Linda Abraham, who bring expertise in global technology growth. The AREA would like to extend our congratulations to the APX Labs team on being named Technology Pioneer and we wish them every success for the future of the company.

The company’s full statement can be read here and their member profile here.

A press release dated June 23, 2016, reveals that Siemens are expanding their Frontier Partner Program to include startups in Augmented and Virtual Reality.

This comes as a result of increased interest from Siemen’s industrial customers for AR and VR across the whole product life-cycle. Additionally, more than one third of US manufacturers expect to adopt AR/VR technologies by 2018, according to a recent Pricewaterhouse Coopers report.

Startups will be able to gain access to Siemens software and technology to accelerate innovations in product development to market.

The Frontier program, in which Siemens is currently working with 20 startups in 3D printing and advanced robotics, will now be extended to startups in industrial Augmented and Virtual Reality. Siemens are able to offer the same tools to startups as Siemens themselves use to create digital enterprises for their industrial customers. Startups receive a year-long development license to Siemens’ PLM software suite that enables product development and access to mentors.

Your company may be just what Siemens are looking for, if you are a startup in Augmented Reality or Virtual Reality, with solutions related to a product and process design, simulation, maintenance and repair, remote collaboration, training, and supporting the sales process. For more information see Siemens webpage.

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.

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.

AREA member Atheer has collaborated with Osterhout Design Group (ODG) to bring their AiR (Augmented Interactive Reality) Suite for Enterprise to ODG’s Smartglasses, a press release published on June 1, 2016, has revealed.

Alberto Torres, CEO of Atheer is quoted as saying, “We are thrilled to be building a deeper collaboration with Osterhout Design Group (ODG) starting with support for the R-7 smartglasses, and look forward to extending our relationship in the future.”

The enterprise application of smartglasses for “deskless professionals” is perfect for streamlining processes for roles such as field engineers, doctors, first responders and industrial technicians. Atheer’s AiR platform is highly collaborative and interactive, meaning efficiencies can be made as workflow interruptions are minimized.

The article nods to the fast enterprise adoption of smart glasses in different value chains. With this collaboration between Atheer AiR Suite and ODG R-7 glasses working together, customers are benefiting from enhanced video collaboration, annotation and task flow capabilities, with ultimate results being seen in corporate profit statements.

Well done to AREA member Atheer, which is quoted as receiving customer reports of a ROI of as much as 30-60% in overall on site inspections, and a 50% travel reduction for field engineers. The press release also provides information about both Atheer and ODG.