California lawmakers and agencies are poised to improve their service to citizens with Augmented Reality, according to a post on TechWire.net, the digital magazine companion to TechWire magazine focusing on the public-sector technology industry in California.

The post summarizes a presentation made by Gregory Curtin, founder and CEO of Civic Resource Group, during the Government Transformation conference in Sacramento, California. Curtain explained that Augmented Reality helps tap the full potential of the network of Internet of Things and can offer integrated, seamless solutions to citizens. One of the use cases proposed is to permit citizens to review plans to invest in new infrastructure such as roads and bridges. The workforce of government agencies could also experience significant productivity gains by having their manuals, expert advice, maps and diagrams readily accessible and superimposed on the real world.

Curtin also published a post on LinkedIn Pulse about Smart Cities and their use of Augmented Reality.

Fox Business Video recently aired an interview with Index AR Solutions President and CEO Dan Arczynski about the use of Augmented Reality in construction. Although the segment’s host misspoke and referred to Virtual Reality when she meant Augmented reality, the video illustrates to audiences how the use of blueprints can be completely replaced by mobile platforms such as tablets to visualize plans and models in real time on job sites.

Arczynski also spoke of the bigger opportunities to increase efficiency through the use of AR in other industries such as manufacturing, power and energy, oil and gas. The possibility of Augmented Reality threatening jobs was introduced. Arczynski predicted that the technology would rather enhance worker efficiency on the job and make them more valuable to their employers.

In an interview with TechCrunch, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies CEO Dirk Ahlborn described his plans for the future of transportation including, but not limited to, Augmented Reality-assisted windows for passengers. Ahlborn suggested in the TechCrunch interview that the passenger’s experience would permit immersive as well as shared experiences, rather than the isolating ones involving Virtual Reality as proposed for airplanes.

The project mentioned is currently being studied as part of a partnership with RE’FLEKT, a German company in which Bosch has recently invested. RE’FLEKT and Hyperloop Transportation Technologies presented the concept using an Augmented Reality Wall during the Natrans-Arabia 2015 Trade Fair in Abu Dhabi. The interactive display shown in Abu Dhabi illustrates how Augmented Reality can also be integrated into the transportation system’s information management services for use by professionals building or servicing the future system’s components, or to educate investors, partners or passengers.

Optics for hands-free displays are advancing rapidly. Very few companies have been working on and delivering game-changing optics longer than Carl Zeiss. The company makes lenses for everything from microscopes to telescopes.

At CES, Carl Zeiss Smart Optics GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of the German giant, was showing the results of the latest developments for smart glasses. Smart Optics combines a Fresnel structure on a polycarbonate lens and a pico projector in the arm of the glasses to produce a very light weight prototype of future smart glasses.

The technology demonstration and prototype shown at CES has been described in many technology sites. An interview with Dr. Kai Jens Ströder, the company’s spokesperson, on the Wired blog shed light on the company’s strategy while a post on the AnandTech blog got into much greater detail. For example, the post says that the technology supports “an arbitrary focus to either place the displayed image a short distance away from the eye (~2m), or even at infinity to create a true HUD.”

Those who tried the technology felt that the weight and size are nearly indistinguishable from corrective glasses but other characteristics such as brightness and resolution are not ready for prime time. While the company touted the technology as easy to mass produce, Joshua Ho, AnandTech’s Senior Editor for Smartphones & Tablets reports that Zeiss shared with him that the design of the lens was covered with over 250 patents, driving home the difficulty of making this optical system work.

According to a recent blog post written by Doug Bolton on UK news portal Independent.co.uk, Bruce Harris, a Microsoft ‘Technical Evangelist’, revealed new information about features of the Microsoft Hololens at an event in Tel Aviv, Israel.

The highlights of the talk include information on the following features:

– Battery Life: The battery will last about 2.5 hours when the system is “pushed to its absolute limit. During regular use, that battery life increases to around 5.5 hours.”

– Field of View: The device’s total field of view will be around the same size as a 15-inch monitor (typical for laptops) viewed from a distance of 24 inches.

– Content: Harris said that the Hololens will run any universal Windows 10 app. When needed, it will be able to connect to content via almost any WiFi or Bluetooth-equipped device.

– Collaboration: Harris also said that users will “be able to link a number of Hololenses together, potentially making it possible for several people to see and interact with the same hologram.”

While these details are not verified by Microsoft itself, they will be helpful for purposes of planning pilots as soon as possible after the developer units begin shipping.

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.

Eyes are one of the human body’s most valuable organs and they move before we are aware. While extensive academic work has been done on this phenomenon and some companies have attempted to introduce gaze technology for controlling cursors, the human eye remains under exploited for Augmented Reality systems. Quantum Interfaces has been developing software to be integrated into hands-free displays for several years.

In a press release issued by Quantum Interface during CES, the company announced that it is working on an alternative to voice, touch and gesture for content and motion control. Its collaboration with EyeTech Digital Systems has produced technology demonstrations of the Quantum Virtual Augmented Reality Interface (QiVARI) with Eye Tracking.

The company suggests that this is the first use of what it calls “predictive user interfaces” which will be used in vehicles and displays such as those provided by ODG which were demonstrated on the exhibition floor.

During CES 2016 Google announced that it is working with Lenovo to create the first Augmented Reality-enabled smartphone based on Project Tango technology. The Chinese hardware maker of the popular ThinkPad laptop line of products mentioned in the announcement that it plans to release the device with 6.5 inch form factor based on a Qualcomm processor in summer 2016. While this device could appeal to consumers, the company’s strong brand in enterprise could also help to carry some weight in enterprise smartphone purchasing decisions.

The Project Tango collaboration is described on a page on the Lenovo site. Lenovo recognizes that before it can have a successful solution to offer, there must be developers engaged to publish applications that could be valuable to its customers. The call for new applications suggests some useful features, such as measuring real world objects in real time or indoor navigation, and points to the Project Tango developer site for further information.

This announcement received attention from dozens of news services whose writers quickly pointed out that the new device could directly compete with products currently on the roadmap with Intel partners. The Intel-based devices would use the RealSense depth sensing technology for comparable features. At least if the devices are not competing directly, their positioning could be confusing to buyers and slow adoption.

A new era in enterprise Augmented Reality began when Intel CEO Brian Krzanich invited Brian Mullins, CEO of DAQRI, an AREA Founding Sponsor member, to the stage on the eve of CES 2016. During the time Mullins had available he spoke about the opportunities for Augmented Reality to increase productivity, reduce risk and costs.

The DAQRI Smart Helmet was featured to demonstrate how, using the Intel RealSense technology for depth perception and mapping and the Intel Core m7 processor for graphics processing and rending, the companies are working on a product that provides a very immersive human computer interface. More information about the relationship between Intel and DAQRI is contained in the press release issued by DAQRI. DAQRI separately announced that it has begun shipping the first production units to its preferred partner network and is conducting pilots with customers in aerospace, construction and oil and gas industries.

Many news outlets posted about the demonstration using language evoking x-ray vision technology. For example, in these posts by The Guardian and on the CNET portal the authors suggest that the technology provides superhuman powers like seeing inside the pipes. Other coverage of the announcement produced over 50 relevant stories in less than a week, a remarkable achievement by enterprise AR publicity standards.

After reviewing photographs and documents released as part of a Federal Communications Commission filing, the 9to5Google blog published a post with photographs compiling new insights with what it already knew about the Enterprise Edition of Google Glass.

The post confirms that the system will have improved internal hardware and ergonomics (e.g., the power switch is in a more convenient position). Furthermore, the device will be easier to store and carry as a result of a button-and-hinge system to fold the arms.

Although Google has yet to formally announce this new product with compact form factors, most observers agree that Google will not be selling to end user customers directly. More than likely, only certified Glass for Work partners will be able to pre-load proprietary software for specific use cases before distributing it to qualified customers or dealers in specific vertical markets.