The companies have partnered to pursue a joint goal: the accelerated growth of wearable software EyeSucceed, an augmented reality (AR) application based on TeamViewer’s enterprise AR platform Frontline.

EyeSucceed has the ability to digitalize processes and address critical challenges in the food industry. The commercial agreement leverages TeamViewer’s technological capabilities and NSF’s industry expertise and global customer base.

NSF has successfully integrated EyeSucceed into the daily operations of customers in the food and beverage industry to empower workers with AR-based workflows. For example, a global fast food restaurant chain has equipped its employees in more than 100 restaurants with the solution to ensure a global quality standard in training and onboarding of new employees.

Furthermore, the software is enhanced with artificial intelligence (AI) features for improving food safety — for example, to automatically detect if hygiene gloves are worn and changed during the food production process.

“TeamViewer’s AR specialists have been dedicated and collaborative partners of ours since 2015, when EyeSucceed was first created,” said John Rowley, vice president of the global food division at NSF International. “Together with TeamViewer, we will help food businesses around the world to reduce risk, improve compliance and strengthen their brands. This collaboration will define the standard for AR applications in the global food supply chain.”

Jan Junker, executive vice president solution delivery at TeamViewer, said, “The use of voice- and eye-controlled AR applications giving step-by-step instructions to workers on smart glasses is game-changing for the food industry. Companies can digitalize their workplaces while keeping their workers’ hands 100% free to perform their tasks faster and better and to stick to all hygiene regulations at the same time. Customers who optimize their processes with our Frontline solution confirm double-digit increases in efficiency and close-to-zero error rates. We are looking forward to teaming up with NSF International to bring these benefits to more customers in the food industry and beyond.”

Read AREA member TeamViewer’s member profile.

Another company, Brainlab, wants to make its Mixed Reality Viewer software available on Magic Leap 2.

That Magic Leap is making its latest wearable available to digital healthcare startups first isn’t surprising; CEO Peggy Johnson said as much would happen last April. “Augmented reality may transform healthcare more than any other industry, at least in the near term,” she said at the time, noting also that the company would focus on enterprise customers at launch.

Read Magic Leap AREA member profile

When there’s a need for an expert to inspect an oil rig or train someone to repair a vehicle, companies used to fly the expert in to do the task in person. More and more, though, companies are learning that when workers in the field are equipped with assisted reality wearables, the expert can help them from a remote location.

The “see what I see” capability of these devices with a head-mounted camera and display allow the expert in a remote location to see what someone else is seeing on site. The expert can also give the person wearing the device verbal instructions and visual instructions through the display. In addition, the person in the field can use the device hands-free.

This kind of “remote expert guidance” has been a common use case for RealWear equipment since the company’s founding five years ago, but it was accelerated when the pandemic prevented people from traveling. Now that more companies have experienced the alternative, and the savings in travel costs and experts’ time, many are likely to stick with it.

“We think this is the new normal, that not everybody needs to travel all the time,” Rama Oruganti, chief product officer at RealWear, told PYMNTS. “There are certain tasks that can be done remotely as long as you have the right point of view, you can see the things and you have the tools in place to make remote work possible in that way.”

Providing Information Without Distracting From Hands-On Work 

RealWear launched the latest generation of its industrial-strength wearables on Dec. 8. Assisted reality wearables like the new RealWear Navigator 500 incorporate the digital world but do not immerse the user in it or put it in the user’s field of vision. Instead, with assisted reality, the digital world is right below the user’s field of view, so they need only look down to see it — just as the driver of a car would glance down at the dashboard, Oruganti explained. In industrial uses cases that often include hazardous environments, it’s important that the user’s field of view not be obstructed, he added.

“Industrial frontline workers are the people who can use most of the helpful things that might come out of the metaverse,” Oruganti said. “So, we are trying to take those and put it into the hands of the people who need it the most.”

The RealWear Navigator 500 is two-thirds the weight its predecessor, so it’s easier to wear during an eight-hour shift; it’s two-thirds the width of the earlier device, so that the center of gravity is closer to the user’s temple and the perceived weight is lower; it’s rugged enough to be dropped from a height of 2 meters without damage, and it’s modular so the camera and display can be changed in the future.

Enabling Digital Workflow and Visual Assist 

Another growing use case for these devices involves inspections in which the user is on site and doesn’t need remote assistance. This “digital workflow” use case applies the product’s ability to respond to voice command and to record what the user sees. While inspecting equipment, for example, the user can mark off items on a checklist with verbal commands and can record what they’re seeing. Previously, this would be done by marking the items off on paper and later entering that information into a laptop.

“That was one of the big things we resolve,” Oruganti said. “One, you reduce paperwork errors; two, you save time, and three, you have visual documentation.”

A third growing use case for this equipment is “visual assist.” If someone is repairing a piece of equipment and needs to see the blueprint as they work, they can see it on the display on the wearables. What’s more, they can track around that piece of paper and zoom in on the part they need.

“It’s like someone’s holding a seven-inch tablet at arm’s length with that information for you, so that’s very helpful,” Oruganti said.

Displaying IoT Data When It’s Needed 

Assisted reality wearables can also display information from the sensors on a piece of equipment so that the user can see if a machine is too hot or spinning too fast, for example, without having to read the dial. The Internet of Things (IoT) data is funneled into the display and the user can see it when they want it.

“[Assisted reality] and [virtual reality] are going to be big — they’re already big and they’re growing fast,” Oruganti said. “The big immediate use case for a lot of people in the real world is going to be in industry. There are 100 million industrial frontline workers — the kind of people we are targeting — so we are trying to take the best in class of things that are applicable here without being distracting and without taking away their hands.”

In 2019, the European Manufacturing sector was responsible for an annual total of 880 million tons of carbon dioxide. This makes it one of the largest single emitters of greenhouse gases in Europe. While in the US, manufacturing accounts for almost a quarter (23%) of direct carbon emissions

With the current global spotlight being shone on climate change, countries and large corporations are having to agree to new climate regulations in the bid to reduce their carbon footprint, and are looking to innovative and complementary technologies that will help to reduce emissions, whilst future proofing their operations – including the adoption and deployment of extended reality (XR) technologies.

What is XR

XR (or eXtended Reality) is an umbrella term that encompasses the immersive Augmented (AR), Mixed (MR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies.

Understand the differences between AR, MR and VR

XR technologies allow data (for the point of this post, 3D CAD and PLM data) to be interacted with as a 3D digital representation in context, and at full scale.

How can XR make it green

On the surface, using XR devices may not seem like they are making much of a difference to an organisation’s green credentials. But small changes in the early stages of product development can filter through along the product’s lifecycle, from the initial design stages to the finished product rolling off the production line.

So where to use it…

Design reviews and prototyping

The design review process often starts with teams looking at a CAD design on a computer screen. However, you never quite get the full picture through a 2D monitor- it can be hard to imagine the true shape and scale of a product, and whether the ergonomics of a design will translate to a physical product.

Usually the next step is to produce 3D models of the product, sometimes at full scale or sometimes as a smaller representation. But either way, additional materials such as clay or foam are required. If the modelling phase needs more than one iteration of a model, then the amount of material used (and the waste product) adds up. And what happens to the models when they are finished with? Do they just get thrown away or are the materials repurposed?

By using XR technology, design reviews can be conducted in context and at full scale, giving designers and engineers the chance to make changes without having to build additional models. The changes can be made in the CAD system and then re-checked in the XR device.

This saves on physical design iterations and therefore the need for modelling materials, which in return reduces the waste produced as excess.

Training

XR is great for training. By practicing a process (such as the assembly of a component) virtually, if errors are made, materials are not wasted and machinery is not needed to be used. The training process can be repeated as many times as necessary. So when the operator is experienced enough, the materials and machinery should only need to be used once.

Collaboration

Today’s products are rarely developed with the luxury of co-located teams.  Globally distributed design is practically unavoidable, and increased home working is further adding to the challenge on effective collaboration between design teams.

By using the collaboration capabilities of XR to connect with globally located teams for processes such as design reviews and factory layouts, the need for previously required travel (including flights to visit various facilities) is redundant. With air travel being a major contributing factor to CO2 emissions, taking that need for travel away will make a difference to your green credentials (and your wallet!).

Starting small is still a start

Obviously there are changes that need to be made to manufacturing process on a grander scale in the attempt to cut emissions and waste, but these projects could take years to implement and cost a lot of money. Switching to XR for some smaller elements, like those mentioned above, may not make a massive dent in the fight against climate change, but its a good place to start.

Perhaps the most promising XR technology applications are found in manufacturing and industrial environments. Indeed according to PwC research, the use of VR MR and AR in product development could raise GDP by $360 billion by 2030.

When determining the optimal deployment strategy for these technologies, manufacturing and industrial business leaders should consider the following:

1. XR has the potential to improve the product design process
2. XR tech can aid in the process of production planning
3. AR is suitable for assembly lines

Examples are given in the article about immersive XR use including Google Glass and Microsoft HoloLens with examples from workers at GE. The original article can be read here.

Over the course of 2021, Big Tech went all in on immersive collaboration and anticipation certainly grew for a game changing XR device (or two) from Apple. 2021 was also the year of the word ‘Metaverse,’ which we see as any immersive world where you might have your next team meeting or interact with brands. Let’s see what the major players in enterprise XR unveiled and acquired this year:

AUGMENTED/MIXED REALITY

MICROSOFT

Microsoft’s activities this year made it clear the company is focusing on collaborative XR and, more generally, the future of work. In March, Microsoft announced Mesh, a new platform for building multi-user XR apps or shared virtual experiences connecting people in different locations. Mesh will be brought into Microsoft Teams in 2022, allowing colleagues to meet as avatars in mixed reality.

META (FORMERLY FACEBOOK)

Facebook rebranded as Meta in 2021 in a PR move to distance the company from controversy, or as leadership claims, to convey the company’s new aim of building the metaverse. Meta also made its AR entrance with a pair of glasses developed in collaboration with Ray-Ban. The company’s 10-year plan for AR, however, is much more ambitious, as revealed in a blog post from Facebook Reality Labs. This includes developing its own operating system for AR and a mixed reality headset code named Project Cambria.

On the VR front, Meta is eyeing the enterprise market: In addition to rebooting its business tools for the consumer Oculus Quest 2, Facebook surprise launched Horizon Workrooms in August, a VR meeting app for remote collaboration, and just this month released its latest avatar system to all Unity developers. If Meta’s intentions aren’t clear enough, nearly a fifth of its employees are now working on AR/VR. (Pay attention to the competition between Meta and Microsoft for top virtual collaboration solution in 2022.)

GOOGLE and CISCO

Both Google and Cisco made moves to make existing video meeting apps more immersive: In July, Google Meet became available to all Google Workspace customers on the Glass Enterprise Edition 2. A few months later, Cisco unveiled Webex Hologram. Cisco says its photorealistic, real-time holograms – as opposed to Meta’s avatars – make virtual meetings more realistic and engaging. In other Google news, new job listings recently revealed the giant’s plans to create a new “Augmented Reality OS” for an unspecified “innovative AR device” intended to reach “billions.”

MAGIC LEAP

Magic Leap has been hard at work on its next-gen headset Magic Leap 2, which is set to debut in 2022 and already being used by select partners through an early access program. Here’s what we know about the upcoming enterprise-focused device: Magic Leap 2 is reportedly half the size and 20% lighter than its predecessor, with a doubled field of view and 3-4x the processing power. Meant to be an “all day, every day” device, additional improvements include improved color fidelity, text legibility, and image quality. Magic Leap also raised $500 million in new capital this year.

LENOVO

In 2021, Lenovo introduced its ThinkReality A3 glasses: The Industrial Edition tethers to a smartphone via USB-C for use in manufacturing, energy, and engineering, while a PC Edition is geared more towards office workers. Lenovo also certified the RealWear HMT-1 for its ThinkReality platform, and announced it will offer RealWear’s HMT-1 family of devices through its global sales network.

Notable Mentions

IRISTICK revealed its Visor Ex-01 smart glasses for hazardous areas in 2021, while Vuzix introduced Vuzix Shield, its first binocular AR smart glasses. Campfire raised $8 million, as well, to build an integrated hardware and software platform partially on the bones of failed startup Meta. In July, the company announced it’s working on holographic collaboration.

VIRTUAL REALITY

PICO

2021 was a good year for Pico, which raised $37 million and launched its next-gen headsets. The Pico Neo 3 Pro and Neo 3 Pro Eye (which includes Tobii eye tracking tech) are priced at $700 and $900 respectively, undercutting both Oculus and HTC.

HP

HP’s Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition, first announced in September 2020, became available in May. Priced at $1,250, the headset provides a wealth of data that can enhance training applications, with sensors for tracking eye movement, pupil size, facial expressions, and heart rate. (Watch HP’s Elias Stephan speak about the Omnicept Edition at EWTS 2021).

HTC

HTC launched two VR headsets in the Spring, along with pro tools for enterprise. The $1,300 HTC Vive Focus 3 is a business headset with 5k resolution, spatial audio, a 120-degree field of view, and new controllers. HTC also unveiled Vive Business, a suite of tools for applications like training, meetings, design reviews, and more.

VARJO

In June, Varjo unveiled its Reality Cloud platform, which allows you to scan a room and share it in photorealistic detail with someone remotely in near real time (essentially teleportation). Varjo Aero, a $2,000 pared down version of Varjo’s XR-3 headset for smaller businesses and wealthy enthusiasts, arrived in October; and Varjo showcased Varjo Lab Tools with which users can bring parts of the real world into VR. In addition, a VR training solution by Varjo and VRM Switzerland became the first to receive approval from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, allowing pilots to earn credited training hours in virtual reality.

SOFTWARE

Remote Collaboration: Arvizio revealed Immerse 3D for iOS, Android, HoloLens, and Magic Leap, allowing users to interact simultaneously with the same 3D model in AR, for instance, during collaborative meetings on Microsoft Teams, Zoom, etc.

Easier AR: Scope AR lowered the bar for AR creation in enterprise with WorkLink Create, a browser-based AR platform enabling industrial professionals to author 3D content without coding.

Expanding footprint: TeamViewer acquired Upskill in 2021 and announced a partnership with Google Cloud to co-develop and market AR solutions built on Google Cloud. Assisted Order Picking is the first jointly developed solution, leveraging Google Glass Enterprise Edition 2 and TeamViewer’s Frontline solution.

PTC & Matterport: In April, PTC announced Vuforia Engine Area Targets. With support from Matterport, Leica 3D scanners, and NavVis’ indoor mobile mapping systems. Area Targets allows users to create digital twins of large spaces (think factories, malls, etc.). The integration of Matterport with PTC’s Vuforia platform can enrich enterprise applications such as wayfinding, virtual training, and real-time information retrieval.

Eye tracking: With eye tracking becoming the standard for next-gen VR headsets, WorldViz announced both Vizard 7, a platform for academic research and professional applications that integrates with over 150 VR devices, and SightLab VR, a drag-and-drop tool allowing anyone to set up and run eye tracking experiments in VR.

QUALCOMM & NVIDIA

Among other 2021 highlights, Qualcomm revealed Snapdragon Spaces XR Developer Platform, a kit to help developers build head-worn AR experiences. (As of November, Lenovo’s ThinkReality A3 glasses are the only supported hardware.) Competitor NVIDIA expanded its Omniverse platform allowing designers and reviewers to work together in real time in a virtual world. Available through a $9,000 annual subscription plan, NVIDIA hopes Omniverse will deliver the foundation for the metaverse…at least in enterprise.

____

In summary:

–       Apple glasses rumors

–       Mark Zuckerberg’s philosophical musings about the future of social and work

–       The Metaverse

But really, pay attention to the remote collaboration space in 2022, which will likely be the first mainstream metaverse application in enterprise; and get excited for upcoming headsets like Magic Leap 2 and a return to San Diego for the Augmented Enterprise Summit 2022 (formerly EWTS).

COVID-19 has continued to create global supply uncertainties, disruptions, and inflationary forces which are forcing companies of all sizes to better manage their supply chains. Combined with the ongoing growth of online shopping, attaining new productivity levels for product transportation, inventory management and order fulfillment will become a distinct competitive advantage.

Smart glasses are becoming a cost-effective tool to facilitate these objectives and an increasing number of the world’s largest firms are starting to move from trialing them to deploying them.

“Vuzix has spent a fair amount of time and resources honing this technology and we are now seeing growing market adoption of our products that are allowing companies to operate with greater productivity. We are pleased to be working with this client, which represents just one of multiple major retailers either implementing or testing our technology for logistics and warehouse usage,” said Paul Travers, President and Chief Executive Officer at Vuzix.

Human ability to imagine objects that are not physically present is limited. It is even more difficult for us to mentally place them in an existing environment. How often, for example, has it happened to you that a newly purchased piece of furniture was too large for the intended space?

In construction planning and architecture, this problem is amplified. Whereas in the case of the previously mentioned piece of furniture, only a single part has to be inserted into an existing space, in architecture we are often dealing with entire buildings in which floors, rooms and objects stand in a relationship to one another; and of course, the building itself as a whole must also fit into its surroundings. In this process, our lack of imagination can lead to mistakes with far-reaching consequences.

This is where technology helps our imagination tremendously. Augmented reality (AR) in combination with Building Information Modeling (BIM) ensures that we can “actually” see all objects and relationships.

What is BIM? What is AR?

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is to be understood as a digital method that is used throughout the life cycle of a building. In this process, all data and information related to the construction is stored and mapped in a BIM-enabled software.

Augmented reality is the computer-aided expansion of reality perception. Specifically in construction planning, the BIM models are “projected” into the real environment.

Benefits of AR in Construction Planning

AR applications for construction planning help our imagination tremendously. They support the entire decision-making process both on the side of the construction planner and on the side of the client. AR glasses can be used to better present and understand the planned building. Thus, decisions in the early planning phases can be made more easily and more correctly, which reduces planning and construction costs accordingly.

“Especially in the case of existing building conversion, it is advantageous if you can visualize the superimposition between the model and reality.”

DI Dr. Timur Uzunoglu, Managing Director convex ZT GmbH

AR Use Cases in Construction Planning at convex

At convex ZT GmbH, we use AR technology from the design phase to operation. With Holo-Light’s AR3S software, we bring BIM planning closer to clients and enable greater planning transparency. Building owners feel more involved in the planning process during our AR-assisted planning meetings and can make better decisions. We make AR inspections together with the builders directly on site. These AR inspections provide a direct impression on site in real time and help to weigh alternatives against each other. In revitalizations of existing buildings, it is often challenging to bring the new structures into a functioning harmony with the existing buildings, and AR helps very well there, too.

The solution works using sustainability targets from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA), which aims to build a carbon-neutral future for the planet.

Citing EPA figures, ThirdEye said the COVID-19 pandemic sharply reduced global transport traffic, which was the “largest contributor to anthropogenic [US] greenhouse gas emissions at 29 [percent].”

ThirdEye’s AR/MR telepresence solutions allow companies to lower their carbon footprint by reducing the overall need for global transport, and the firm’s RemoteEye platform has cut onsite visits to allow significant cost savings, leading to a major improvement in return on investment (ROI).

Nick Cherukuri, Founder of ThirdEye, said his company’s RemoteEye platform aims to include a Carbon Footprint Score for its users to calculate the organisation’s carbon footprint with AR.

Explaining further on the benefits of AR technologies, he continued, stating,

“Not only are AR and MR teleconferencing platforms financially prudent due to traveling less, but by using this technology to share knowledge and operational workflows, there are tremendous carbon emission savings. For example, we can bring education and telehealth to underprivileged areas around the world with augmented and mixed reality”

The company’s RespondEye, which complies with the US Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), also allows doctors to tackle health problems for remote patients “anytime, anywhere.” Doctors can later assign patients and carers medical diagnoses and treatment options.

Enterprises can also benefit from the introduction of 3D digital twins to reduce inventory and other digital assets, ThirdEye said, adding doing so would reduce production emissions and costs.

The news comes as the US firm aims to expand its solutions to the Asia-Pacific with its X2 MR smart glasses and a major partnership with Go VR Immersive, a Hong Kong-based XR startup.

Tthe smart glasses would be deployed to remote workers across China, just shortly his firm inked a major partnership with Microsoft to deploy HoloLens 2 MR head-mounted displays in the Asia-Pacific region.

A few things mentioned include:

• Eye examinations can be done at a fraction of the cost
• Magic Leap’s next generation AR glasses are smaller lighter, faster
• They have a greater field view – this has doubled in their next gen device
• Vertical representation e.g. surgery digital content overlaid across the knee and look at virtual screens
• Bringing light dimmer to bring more focus to what needs to be concentrated on (again surgical use)

Answering criticism about lack of progress, Johnson argued that 4 healthcare companies are testing the devices right now and other industries are working with Magic Leap at the moment. These include:

• Health
• Defense and Public Sector
• Manufacturing
• Automotive and Transport
• Oil and Gas
• Architecture, Engineering, Construction (AEC)

You can watch the video here