The US Navy is developing a high-tech diving helmet that has the potential to make underwater missions a lot safer. This new heads-up display system is built into the diver’s helmet and is called the Diver Augmented Vision Display (DAVD).

A Tech Insider report shows a lead engineer of the Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division wearing and demonstrating the DAVD during a lab simulation.

DAVD uses Augmented Reality to overlay the diver’s vision with real-time information such as diagrams, images, text messages and videos. This can help with navigation and situational awareness especially when the diver is in low-visibility murky water, for example, by displaying the diver’s topside view and site of the diver’s actual location. Access to real-time operational data helps divers to be safer and more effective due to improved accuracy when navigating towards underwater objects of interest.

A press release by the US Navy reveals that applications of the DAVD HUD could be underwater construction, salvage operations, ship repairs at sea as well as first responders in underwater rescue missions.

The development team is working on a second phase: components are being designed for helmet systems and full-face masks. In-water simulation testing is due to be conducted in October 2016, with further field testing in 2017.

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.

A recent rise in interest about Augmented Reality has prompted much more information being available on the topic. What many people may not be aware of is just how long researchers and developers have been working on Augmented Reality and using it. An infographic published by Augment.com reveals on a timeline how long Augmented Reality has been in the making.

The infographic charts the progressive track of Augmented Reality through history from its origins, to its remarkable modern-day explosion with the dates ranging from 1968 to 2016.

The timeline starts in 1968 when Ivan Sutherland developed the first head-mounted display system, taking us through examples of early uses throughout the decades. Notable mentions are 1990 when the term Augmented Reality was coined by Boeing Researcher, Tom Caudell. The timelines also nods to early applications in the enterprise including early wearables for soldiers. NASA’s enhanced visual navigation is noted, as is NFL use of markers in their televised games. The 2000’s see the development of the ARToolKit in 2000 and its introduction to web browsers in 2009.

The modern day portion of the timeline acknowledges early enterprise adopters such as automotive and manufacturing companies before concluding with the recent explosion of wearables and Magic Leap’s investment round which raised $50 million in Series A.

The Economist recently featured a round up of different Augmented Reality use cases about smart glasses and wearables in the workplace entitled “Here’s looking at you.” This summary includes four AREA members: Newport News Shipbuilding, Atheer, JoinPad and DAQRI.

The article states that while consumers may not be ready for odd-looking wearables, the workplace is already embracing them.

Schneider Electric is featured because their workers can spend up to half their work time searching for technical data in software, databases, activity logs and through paper records. Schneider Electric is testing Augmented Reality systems that make that same information appear via wearables in a fraction of the time: research suggests time taken for search is reduced to a tenth, meaning immense productivity and efficiency savings.

The article further describes enterprise examples from the following providers and enterprise applications, and includes a number of AREA members:

• Siemens, a German engineering company, is using technology by AREA member JoinPad to help with various tasks such as the prevention of hazardous and costly oil fires in high-voltage transformers, where they have typically experienced 20% productivity gains.
• Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia, where 200 workers currently use Augmented Reality on tablets, is rolling out AR during construction of an aircraft carrier and half-a-dozen submarines for the US Navy. They plan to use smart helmets in the future.
• Atheer, another AREA member, is distributing Air Smart Glasses to industrial users within a few months with headset prices “getting keener.”
• The DAQRI Smart Helmet is being used at KSP Steel in Kazakhstan.

Member profiles can be read here.

Other providers mentioned in the article include Hololens, Vuzix and Augmedix.

A summary article by Tx Zhuo, Managing Partner at Karlin Ventures, published on Entrepreneur.com starts with citing Google Glass’ decision to focus on its Project Aura headset as an indication that the future of Augmented Reality is moving away from consumers and headed towards using AR as an enterprise solution.

It goes on to show how companies are already leveraging existing hardware like iPads and smartphones whereas others are developing innovative new products.
The article warns that while some consumers may think Augmented Reality is a gimmick, the workplace is already being revolutionized by AR technology, with processes being streamlined and improvements in safety and communication.

Vendor mentions in the article go to member DAQRI’s smart helmet, which delivers instructions and safety guidelines pertaining to the users’ surroundings, as well as to member Scope AR’s ability to deliver 3D instructions to field technicians. GetVu also received a mention for using wearables to increase efficiency and reduce warehouse packing errors, as does IBM’s Max Reality.

The article also offers advice for AR startups by presenting a four-step process to market positioning, including surveying stakeholders, considering hardware, targeting “motivated trailblazers” and thinking about the most valuable and contextual data inputs. Finally a word to enterprises considering investment in Augmented Reality: focus on ROI.

A press release by International Data Corporation (IDC) on May 19 announced the 2016 IDC Innovators: pioneers in the smart eyewear enterprise market. The criteria IDC employed were that companies must have under $50m revenue and must offer inventive technology and/or a ground-breaking business model.

We would like to congratulate AREA members APX Labs, Atheer and Vital Enterprises in being named IDC Innovators. All the awarded companies are said to be addressing the challenges of providing a robust, integrated, scalable and flexible enterprise platform for smart eyewear.

APX Lab’s Skylight software helps enterprises create a connected workplace through smart glasses by giving hands-free access to critical applications and information within workers’ field of view, without disrupting the flow of work. Skylight can integrate with existing and custom enterprise systems including those from Microsoft, SAP, Salesforce.com and others. Read APX Labs member profile here.

The Atheer AiR (Augmented Interactive Reality) platform consists of the AiR Smart Glasses, the Android-based AiR OS and the AiR Suite for Enterprise. The AiR glasses are designed to enhance the productivity and safety of deskless professionals. Atheer member profile can be read here.

Vital Enterprise’s platform connects remote workers and experts by providing remote assistance and telestration, and hands-free interaction with the data-display and communication capabilities of smart glasses. Vital’s enterprise software platform integrates with best-in-class glasses from ODG, Google and others.

Other innovators included Pristine’s EyeSight, whose platform enables real time connections between workers and managers via smart glasses, and XOEye Technologies, which equips facilities and field technicians with wearable technology systems that capture & share information. Well done to all!

New market research by MarketsandMarkets, recently forecast huge growth in the Mobile Augmented Reality Market, which is set to be worth almost $80 billion by 2022.

The major driver for the mobile augmented reality market growth is the high penetration of smartphones and tablets. A report by Jonathan Crowl for Mobile Business Insights, suggests that this is particularly true in markets where mobile technology is not yet as prevalent, arguing that the time frame will allow mobile developers to better understand how to build Augmented Reality experiences for a mass market. Smartphones could be the most important device in driving Mobile Augmented Reality growth, since users could, for example, use smartphones to create digital overlays of information in an environment.

Nods to Augmented Reality applications in the enterprise are given, including how Augmented Reality can make contributions in education, e-retail and hospitality. Geographically, the prediction is that the highest demand will be from the Asia-Pacific region, where new technology adoption will combine with economic growth to fuel innovation in mobile.

The challenge now is for developers to understand new mobile technologies and how they might create effective augmented experiences that will be applicable across multiple industries.

A recent article by Healthcare Informatics discusses a PwC report (May 12), which presented implications for wearables providers in the healthcare industry following an explosion of consumer adoption of such devices. The article’s author, Mark Hagland, speaks with Vaugh Kaufmann of PwC to discuss the implications for the healthcare industry and for providers of wearables.
The PwC study drew conclusions from the findings of an online survey in March 2016, with a sample size of 1000 respondents. Gartner estimates that “by 2018, 2 million US employees will be required to wear health and fitness tracking devices as a condition of employment”.
The PwC report contains a large amount of statistics, including the percentage of wearable devices consumers are planning to buy in the next 12 months, with the distribution as follows:

• 57% fitness bands
• 53% smart watches
• 50% smart video or other photo device
• 41% smart glasses
• 38% smart clothing

The rate of adoption has increased in the past two years, which Kauffman attributes to an increase in the number of companies offering devices and better integration with smart phones and other devices. Wearables may provide patient engagement in tracking and monitoring their own healthcare. The report touches on risk management around tracking data from patients and how that data will be used. One compelling advantage for healthcare providers is the reduced cost of patient-doctor interaction.
The article touches upon implications for physicians working in the healthcare industry, including the process of incorporating the data. The implications for IT leaders in terms of producing ecosystems of data are explored. One of the conclusions is that the consumer continues to outpace the industry in terms of willingness to adopt and the burden is on the healthcare industry to figure out how to leverage this.

“Could Boston Be The Augmented Reality Capital of the World?” This interesting news item caught the eye of the AREA this week. As a global organization with members worldwide, the title provides an interesting hook.

An article on BostInno by Galen Moore cites his conversation with John Werner, new VP Strategic Partnerships at Meta, developers of Augmented Reality glasses, whose dream it is to have Boston as the AR capital of the world.

Meta is raising $50 million in a Series B funding round on top of the $23m from Series A. Internally, Meta’s investment vision is that Meta will be the platform that industries will want to develop software on top of. Enterprise applications are seen as being huge, with health and education being cited.

Virtual Reality is having its media moment right now, but Werner argues for Augmented Reality being the potentially more disruptive technology, and he is quoted as saying that he wants to make Boston the Augmented Reality capital of the world.

His dream is to create a Boston-based hub, drawing from the best talent from schools, fortune 1000s and best start-ups. His second aim is to make the Augmented Reality device (Metaglasses) so necessary to businesses that they cannot imagine living without it and thirdly, to put on an annual Boston-based global Augmented Reality event to showcase the technology and vision.

An article on emerging tech by NextGov.com suggests the government of the future will be hyper-connected, able to anticipate and respond to the needs of its citizens, running on modern IT systems and employing cutting-edge Augmented Reality. The article draws upon a report released by Deloitte University Press this week: Tech Trends 2016, Innovating in the Digital Era.

This hyper-connected government of the future is likely only a few years away. The Deloitte report covers in depth review of a number of emerging technology trends, including the Internet of Things, Augmented and Virtual Reality, modernizing core systems, leveraging virtualization, industrialized analytics and the associated social impact. Each trend comes complete with use cases and reading lists.

The NextGov article suggests the most important lesson to federal agencies is the necessity to modernize outdated IT systems to better handle IoT and what it refers to as an inevitable “deluge of data.” Organizations should take steps now to modernize their underlying technology to better enable a speedy adoption of emerging technology, even the traditionally slower, large bureaucratic public sector organizations.

With the section entitled “Augmented and Virtual Reality go to Work” spanning 12 pages, there is much useful information in Deloitte’s report for businesses to absorb. The report cites many real world examples of organizations currently using Augmented Reality in the enterprise and argues that the benefits to agencies and businesses “will likely outpace consumer adoption cycles.”