The following information is taken from an article on Newsweek by Anthony Cuthbertson.

A patent has been published in August by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, depicting a device very similar to the original Google Glass. It includes an Augmented Reality lens and camera. In addition, the new version has removable AA batteries, which would not need to be removed for charging.

Google Glass sales stopped in 2015. Limited applications and the invasive head-mounted camera were said to be responsible for its failure. According to Robert Scoble, a notable tech blogger who was one of the first to try Google Glass, this was due to various issues that include:

• Not enough utility to withstand the cost at $1500
• Inadequate camera
• Short battery life
• Small, low-resolution display

Through its “Glass at Work” program, Google has maintained research on the device. The scheme aims to promote its application in the education and healthcare sectors, so this is one for enterprise clients to keep an eye on.

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.

Commuter rail is a new industry to also be taking advantage of Augmented Reality. The Keolis Commuter Services (KCS) will provide the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) workers with smart glasses in order to aid communications, increase repair speed, and lower disruptions, according to an article on TechnologyReview.com. The start-up company was incorporated in January, and the new technology is set to be released in September 2016.

The software that will be used is called AMA XpertEye, which buys the smart glasses from companies such as Epson and Google, and adds its own operating system onto them. This allows the wearer to hold conversations and video chats from the field with colleagues situated in other locations, for example an office.

Technological features:
• Image annotations can be made
• Screenshots of the video can be taken
• The video can be saved for future replay
• Encrypted connection that can use 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi, or Ethernet cable
• Enhances people’s vision via image processing
• Useful for companies in maintenance, monitoring, and training

Benefits to the company of the technology:
• Will help keep more trains in service
• Will save mechanics a 30 minute walk
• KCS would not have to transport trains to the main facility if damage occurred
• Workers could easily fix a problem if they can consult experts (efficient communication)
• Workers will learn more through a visual experience—ease of use and training
• Drivers may be able to make emergency repairs

In addition, there are other uses for AMA XpertEyes’ technology; car manufacturers can oversee auto repairs, security guards and factory managers can survey buildings, and insurance companies can observe property damage. Ultimately, ease of use for existing employees will be the most important factor in the investment decision-making process.

An article on Automation World details the release of the VuMark customizable codes, which will be particularly relevant for industrial maintenance. VuMark’s customizable symbols launch Augmented Reality applications. Just as QR codes can be used to access websites, Augmented Reality has its own code marks used to launch Augmented Reality applications. Unlike QR codes, with their standard format and appearance, AR codes can now be customized. These marks can be quite varied in appearance.

VuMark’s customizable visual codes can be attached to any product or object. The codes are available from PTC as part of the Vuforia 6 development suite. The codes can be placed on any product or machine. The VuMark is a visual indicator that an AR experience is available. For example, this might be instructions for assembly, or for use in inspection or repair. The article explores the relevance of this increased efficiency in training and remote assistance to industry operations.

The VuMark Designer application enables Adobe Illustrator users to create VuMarks from existing graphics and brand assets for example logos, which will make them visually appealing and also encode any type of data needed for accessing an AR experience. There are links to two PTC videos showing industry applications from Sysmex Corporation and KTM Motorcycles.

Intel is expected to disclose details about its Remote Eyesight Augmented Reality smart glasses at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in San Francisco in August. It has been said that the AR smart glasses look like a cross between Google Glass and Microsoft’s HoloLens. They use Intel’s Collaboration Suite for WebRTC video capabilities.

Intel’s Remote EyeSight is built around the idea of interactive remote collaboration using smart glasses, possibly like using Skype on a wearable. Tech experts at Intel indicate this could be used in areas such as medicine and repairs. Intel’s smart glasses are intended to solve the issue of the HoloLens heavy headset restricting movement.

The company aims to “transform Intel’s enterprise collaboration experiences with secure, cost-effective, hands-free and Augmented Reality technologies.”

Intel has acquired startups with experience in the field, such as Replay Technologies, recently acquired by Intel. Replay Technologies develops technology used in sports replays.

An article in Forbes by Aaron Tilley mentions a number of AREA members. Augmented Reality is expected to be a $100 billion industry by 2020 (ABI Research), with much of the growth occurring in industry. The article focuses on how utilities are using Augmented Reality technology. AREA member Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) is conducting a large-scale experiment with global utilities. EPRI is a nonprofit organization funded by the electric utility industry. They hope to have 15 utilities participating and the study will be conducted over 18 months.

The focus is on improving efficiency and reducing the error rate of the workforce. The study is designed to see how the technology could improve efficiency and reduce the error rate of its workforce. Augmented Reality assists field utility workers in maintenance, repair and building. The electric utility business needs to maintain, repair and build massive infrastructure. Speeding up these processes is vital in making efficiency savings considering much of the equipment is expensive, complicated and old.

The article also mentions that EPRI will be using devices from Atheer Air and DAQRI, who are also both AREA members. John Simmins at EPRI is quoted as saying “This technology will be as commonplace as smartphones are now. You’re going to see AR everywhere.”

On Monday, July 11th, 2016, CNBC aired a live exclusive interview with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt. Many interesting viewpoints regarding Augmented Reality in the enterprise were discussed and here are highlights below:

• Industrial scenarios, education, training, manufacturing, architecture and industrial design are going to be fundamentally changed by Augmented Reality.
• You can take the cycle time of doing repairs on a utility or refinery down by 10%. This is because you could fix everything right the first time and have a chance to visualize and manage the human data interface. That’s probably worth around $50 billion.
• The industrial applications of this are going to be worth billions of dollars of productivity.
• Commenting on how far off we are from widespread adoption of AR and IoT technologies, it’s probably around 24 months.
• There are around 20,000 field engineers repairing MR scanners, gas turbines and jet engines. We are marrying their tasks with service data right now.
• Let’s say to replace the GE installed base today would cost almost $2 trillion. So these assets that are out there, these industrial assets: I mean, the difference between the consumer internet and the industrial internet. if you get sick of your iPhone, you just throw it away and buy another one. You don’t do that with a jet engine or a gas turbine. You need it, you know, 1% more fuel is like gold for you. So our ability to deliver in this distributed global network, more productivity tools, is like gold for our customers.
• Make no mistake, Augmented Reality is going to happen. It is going to happen in the industrial space. It is going to be very productive.

Details of the full transcript and videos of the interview can be found here.

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 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 recent article by Daniel Newman for Forbes, is aimed at companies considering their options over the potential workplace adoption of Augmented Reality; the article stresses how the blend between AR and the Internet of Things is set to alter workplace environments of the future.

The author takes a realistic and logical standpoint by inviting readers to consider life before mobile phones and smartphones not so long ago. Augmented Reality’s ability to enable access to real time data and to streamline processes will not only positively impact internal business processes, but will likely impact external competition. Enterprises are invited to consider how they will be able to secure competitive advantage in their industry by leveraging AR technology.

The author talks through a number of factors for consideration in any company’s assessment of whether they ought to be the first-mover in terms of enterprise AR adoption in their industry: existing resources, speed of technology and barriers to entry. The final advice for companies is to survey their stakeholders as a means of assessing where technology will have the most impact—and to make realistic assessments of current hardware and infrastructure in supporting the new technology.

The AREA is committed to helping accelerate the global adoption of Augmented Reality in the enterprise: if your company is considering introducing Augmented Reality, the AREA provides a range of use cases and a wide range of information and resources to help get you started and make the right decisions.