A recent article on ZDNet discussed how emerging technology is proceeding so far this year, particularly for enterprises rather than consumers. The range of Enterprise Technology which is valuable for integration is on the increase despite IT budgets only rising slowly, which is putting pressure on organisations. ZDNet has another article on this specific topic here.

The article includes a list of technologies that are expected to increase in double digits each year for five years or more into the future, in addition to new tech categories which appear significant despite not having yet been forecast. ZDNet claims that organisations should pay attention to the uses of the technologies listed; for example, their influence on strategy, skill-building, experimentation, and preparation for a larger-scale adoption.

Enterprise Technology included are Augmented Reality, Machine learning, Virtual Reality, 3D and 4D printing, wearable technology, mobile business apps, Edge / Fog Computing, Marketing Integration, Internet of Things (IoT) and Internet of Everything (IoE), Big Data, Blockchain and distributed ledgers.

The article concludes by mentioning that a fixed strategy can no longer take rapidly changing technology cycles into account, which means enterprises now require new ways of approaching tech adoption. Although emerging tech for the enterprise is on the rise, we are still only at the beginning of emerging technology being utilised for businesses.

A recent article on BrainXchange lists a number of enterprises that are utilising wearable technology in order to create beneficial customer service schemes.

The list includes the following companies:

• Audi = using Virtual Reality headsets to allow potential buyers to visualise the cars in a range of simulated landscapes. They partnered with Zerolight to produce virtual scenery that wouldn’t be possible to see in real life, e.g. viewing cars on the moon. Ford is also developing a VR platform in addition to AR of hologram display cars.
• Lifestyle Home Builders = a Virginia-based company that is using VR in custom home building and buying. They provided customers with the experience of virtually viewing versions of completed houses via a VR headset by adapting building information modelling and off-the-shelf software.
• Cincinnati Airport (CVG) = recently trialled Samsung Gear S3 Smart Watches to aid janitors in keeping ahead with clean-ups and supplies. They partnered with Hipaax to integrate data from sensors in restrooms with their TaskWatch application; if successful, this will be released in 2018.
• Norden Machinery = a Swedish company that provides tube filling for cosmetic and pharmaceutical products. They partnered with XMReality to enable employees to provide remote support for their customers via use of Smart Glasses.
• Air New Zealand = the airline partnered with Dimension Data to produce an AR solution using the Hololens to help stewards to anticipate passengers’ needs. Emirates is also considering how their staff can use AR glasses to enhance the passengers’ experience.
• PulteGroup = one of the US’s largest homebuilders. They are utilising VR headsets to enable customers to take virtual tours of potential future homes where the model houses are as yet unfinished.

AREA member Atheer, announced recently that they have developed an Android tablet version of their own AiR Enterprise Augmented Reality application.

This new tablet version of Atheer’s AiR Enterprise, currently is in use by members of their Early Adopter Program. This new technology was initially designed for use with the popular Samsung S2 tablets. AiR Enterprise will support a broad range of tablets and handheld Android devices.

Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Atheer, Soulaiman Itani said: “The release of AiR Enterprise for Android tablets is another important step towards delivering on the promise of Augmented Reality for all our industrial enterprise customers. It provides our customers with the flexibility, scalability, speed and choice they need to bring together their physical and digital workspaces – using assets and technology they already have.”

Getting AiR Enterprise for Android tablets into the hands of customers allows Atheer to be able to offer and refine AR solutions that seamlessly integrate tablets and smart glass experiences into a single, cohesive working environment.

AREA member Boeing has announced that its venture capital arm, HorizonX, will be investing in C360 Technologies, a startup that focuses on Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and 360-Degree videos.

Boeing Vice President for Horizon, Steve Nordlund, said the investment is a ‘win-win’ due to C360s video capabilities it will bring to a new market while providing an outlet for Boeing to further some of its own technological initiatives. “Our C360 investment is a powerful example of how HorizonX can access rapid advances in innovation outside aerospace and bring them to our Boeing customers.” Says Nordlund.

Mike Sinnett, Vice President of Product Development at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said current trends in the aviation industry could push Boeing to look into autonomous options, provided that they are equally as reliable as human pilots. “There’s going to be a transition away from the requirement to have a skilled aviator operating the airplane tactically, to having a system that operates the vehicle autonomously.” States Sinnett

According to the article on Geek Wire, C360 joins three other companies in HorizonX’s investment portfolio: Virginia-based Upskill, another AREA member, (provider of Augmented-Reality solutions for industrial settings); Kirkland, Wash.,-based Zunum Aero, which is working on a new class of hybrid electric airplanes; and Texas-based SparkCognition, which focuses on artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things.

We’d like to draw our readers’ attention to an article on Medium.com by Amitt Mahajan “How Augmented Reality will put people back to work”.  Augmented Reality has the potential to help transition displaced workers who have lost their jobs due to increasing automation. By providing a worker with just-in-time information, AR enables them to perform a variety of tasks that they may have no prior experience with. This allows workers to fluidly move from one type of job to another to maintain a stable income.

Research shows that through a combination of robotics and artificial intelligence, a large number of jobs may disappear soon. Augmented Reality (AR), however, may become the tool that delays this fate by evolving the role of workers in a post-automation world, creating opportunities for continued employment across a more diverse set of occupations.

The article talks through how AR can enable people to perform a variety unfamiliar and complex tasks. At scale, this can take a displaced workforce and immediately put people back to work performing jobs guided by AR.  Many examples are provided in the article of how AR is currently being used in workplace contexts and how it might be used in the future to bring huge benefits to the world of work. Applications already exist that make it easy for remote knowledge workers to draw and instruct within an on-site technician’s field-of-vision.

AREA members ScopeAR and DAQRI are mentioned in the article for their work in bringing AR solutions to the enterprise.

AR knowledge also has the ability to adapt immediately whereas traditional training does not.  The article concludes by offering the opinion that while AR isn’t a permanent solution to unemployment, it is one that could ease the transition of displaced workers.  Long term, even these sorts of jobs may be automated by specialized robots. That level of automation, however, could be decades away or may never become economically viable. In the meantime, augmented reality can provide a way for the human worker to continue to be productive and a value to society.

AREA member RealWear has created a hands free head-mounted tablet the HMT-1. The HMT-1 is a discreet small screen, hands free, head-mounted tablet that is designed to be worn with an industrial helmet for workers in the field, factory or warehouse without obstructing the user’s vision.

RealWear they released this product in March 2017 to a limited audience selling to 65 companies. In May 2017, an additional 240 units shipped, and 60 were kept to test in a lab setting at RealWear. The beta program will shut down after these pilots are completed, and production will begin for August 2017 shipments to the general public at less than $1,500 per unit.The HMT-1 supports 10 languages and is designed for industrial workers who need to be hands-free while talking to consultants at a home office or other location.

Andy Lowery, CEO of RealWear, describes the voice recognition system as “our special sauce” because it incorporates two different algorithms and two different microphones.

To read this article in full click here.

Vuzix Corporation, supplier of Smart Glasses, AR, and VR technologies for consumers and enterprises, has announced a partnership with Ubimax to offer a hands-free smart glasses solution using the Vuzix M300 to WS Kunststoff-Service.

The aim of this team-up is to curtail employee training, improve processes, and reduce errors. One motivator is cited as rising competition from low-wage countries, as was experienced at WS Kinstaff-Service. 

The Vuzix M300 uses a graphical user interface and communication via external sensors, scales, etc. to provide a step-by-step guide for the worker. Wassim Saeidi, CEO at WS Kunststoff-Service, is quoted to have said that the technology provides a long term advantage over competition, as their employees benefit from this type of hands-free workstyle, and customers appreciate improved products.

The solution provided by Vuzix and Ubimax has resulted in a substantial performance improvement in training. Later, WS Kunststoff-Service added Ubimax’s xAssist to allow workers to call shift leaders from their M300 Smart Glasses when issues occur, resulting in reduced costs.

Paul Travers, CEO and founder of Vuzix, is quoted to have said that they are eager to partner with Ubimax and help WS Kunststoff-Service with their manufacturing solution, and that Vuzix are providing hundreds of customers with their technology.

A recent report discusses the Global Smartglasses Market examining the performance of the market in 2017. The market report contains in-depth research of the market state and the competitive landscape globally.

The report includes Smartglasses market size, revenue, market share, Smartglasses industry volume, market trends, Smartglasses growth aspects and a wide range of applications, utilization ratio, supply and demand analysis. It also shows manufacturing capacity and Smartglasses price during the forecast period from 2017 to 2022.

Top vendors which are mentioned in this report include:

• Google Glass
• Microsoft
• SONY
• Samsung
• Newmine
• Baidu glasses
• Recon
• Lenovo
• ITheater
• And many more

The report covers the top Smartglasses manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.

Giving information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of the Smartglasses industry and rules  and policies.

To request a free sample of this report click here; bit.ly/2tRiHus

An article on Computer World discusses an Augmented Reality trial that DHL Supply Chain, a logistics company, is testing with an Australian client to evaluate the benefits of AR in warehouse operations.

Andrew Weyer, the vice president of DHL Supply Chain, has said that the company’s investment in AR is due to their ‘Industry 4.0’ emerging tech assessment. DHL Supply Chain’s 2014 paper, Augmented Reality in Logistics, outlined 3 key areas of the logistics industry which could benefit most from AR: warehouse operations, transportation optimisation, and last-mile delivery.

In 2015, DHL conducted a three-week pilot in a Ricoh warehouse using Google Glass and Vuzix. The results of this showed an over 25% productivity increase, which then lead to DHL deciding to expand their AR program and conduct further trials, across different industries as well as countries.

Weyer is quoted to have said that RF picking technology has shown to be especially vital in the pharmaceutical industry, as it allows for greater accuracy, which is particularly important because patients’ lives depend on getting the right batch. DHL is responsible for around 80% of the direct distribution of healthcare products to pharmacies in Australia.

The AR pilot is managed by a globally-used operations maturity standard, which introduces many strict disciplines; daily reporting on productivity is useful for actively understanding the impact of different technologies.

A recent article on engineering.com describes how Google Glass should be aimed at a different market than it initially was. Rather than targeting the public, who were not as accepting of the technology as Google predicted, big organisations became interested.

The public found Google Glass unappealing due to the invasion of privacy it could be responsible for, as anyone can record video with them. However, smart glasses have much more advantageous uses in construction, and large companies within this industry will be more likely to invest in the $1300 – $1500-a-pair technology than members of the public.

The article references another article on Wired, which further discusses the increased productivity that companies, e.g. factories, the medical industry, have experienced by using Google Glass.

Through discovering their target industry, Google has helped smart glass providers by narrowing the focus for who they should market towards.