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.

AREA member Upskill announced another successful pilot at GE Aviation using the company’s Skylight platform on Glass Enterprise Edition.

In a press release on Prnewswire.com Upskill announced that this new use case, combined with significant growth in AR and assisted reality implementations across GE, Boeing and many other customers worldwide, is a testament to the immediate return on investment companies in the industrial sector see after deploying Skylight on Glass.

Jay Kothari, Project Lead, Glass said; “Our customers’ success is a direct result of Upskill’s longevity as a Glass Partner dating back to the Explorer Program. Upskill saw the potential for Glass in the workplace early on and has successfully deployed Glass across a range of businesses to help people be more effective and efficient at their jobs,”

Upskill CEO and co-founder Brain Ballard commented, saying; “It is exciting to now have Glass available to enterprises who understand the value of how wearables and industrial IoT can transform a business today. Now, more than ever, organizations can confidently invest in smart glasses to drive meaningful impact and get the most out of their investments towards digital transformation.”

The article discusses how these smart glass implementations span a wide range of use cases across GE Businesses—from topbox cabinet wiring, to warehouse picking and kitting, to field repair and maintenance. In the case of GE Aviation, age-old tools are now becoming connected, and interacting digitally with people who build and repair aircraft engines. Mechanics tested Skylight on Glass combined with a WiFi-enabled torque wrench to optimally tighten bolts while performing routine assembly and maintenance tasks.

To view the new case study click here.

In a recent article, AGCO a Minnesota based manufacturer of agricultural equipment, announced that the use of Glass-assisted reality wearables has helped increased workers productivity and accuracy while performing complex assemblies.

According to the article in a manufacturing workplace, the ability to be both efficient and see the details in assembly work  is critical to success. They believe that training employees from day one, using artificial assistance tools can be a good way to get them accustomed to the future of work.

AGCO reports that Glass wearable use has led to a 50% reduction in new employee training time and a 30% reduction in task processing. AGCO’s Director of Business Process Improvement Peggy Gulick said that the use of smart glasses in employee development is highly effective, particularly for new hire training, multi-operational concepts and new product launches.

To read the article and watch a video on AGCO click the link here.

The valuation of the Global Augmented Reality Market is estimated to reach USD 124.37 billion by 2022 growing at a CAGR of 76.60% between 2016 and 2022, according to a new market report.

The global Augmented Reality Market report has been composed based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry professionals. The primary focus of the market report is to define and specify Past-Current Size, Augmented Reality Shares, Price, Segment & Forecast to 2022.

The report offers a detailed analysis of the Augmented Reality market dynamics which will influence the market during the forecast season and gives a proper understanding of the Augmented Reality major players, dominant Augmented Reality market segments, diverse geographic regions and Augmented Reality market size (revenue).

Augmented Reality market Key Players analysis

• Google and Inc.
• IBM Corporation
• Infinity Augmented Reality and Inc.
• Blipper.com Ltd.
• Metaio GmbH
• Microsoft
• Corporation
• Sony
• Corporation
• SamsungQualcomm
• Inc.Apple and Inc.

To read the report in full click here

Readers may be interested in a whitepaper named ‘Augmented Reality Technologies Offer Industry Changing Applications’.  The key topic area is advancing workforces with Smart Glasses. The author is Zachary Wassenberg of Burns McDonnell, a specialist construction engineering company.

The document discusses a range of topics including:

• Smart Glass Technology Terms
• Safety: Improving construction environments
• Disaster Recovery: Speeding emergency response
• Peer-to-peer Communication: Opening doors to remote collaboration
• Construction management: Helping projects run smoother
• Asset management: Improving maintenance and extending equipment life
• What’s next for Smart Glasses

The author of the whitepaper, Zachary Wassenberg, works in substations and Augmented Technologies, focusing on transmission and distribution engineer-procure-construction (EPC) projects.

You can download the whitepaper here.

AREA member Appearition released a 5 minute read blog this week where they interviewed Tomi T Ahonen with 5 questions.  Tomi T Ahonen is “a thought leader in Tech Space with a distinct passion for Augmented Reality”. He’s the author of 12 books on mobile.  

Topics covered include

• How the Augmented Reality Industry has evolved over the past 5 years
• Where he’d like to see the industry in the next 5 years
• The more influential players in this industry
• Where he sees the most potential for development
• Top 3 benefits of AR technology
• Challenges faced by companies looking to adopt Augmented Reality at an enterprise level
• Thoughts and advice for newcomers in the industry

Tomi T Ahonen believes that ‘AR is truly magical. As such, it appeals remarkably strongly to young people.’  With discussions on how AR is ‘illustrative’ it really is worth a read!

To read the interview in full click here.

An article by ndmcolumns.com discusses the latest smart glasses market report by QYResearch. The report, named ‘AR & VR Smartglasses Market’ brings to light the comprehensive study and factual information of the global market.

The report focuses on regional as well as global markets, its key players, along with market segments including a detailed study on various divisions and its applications. It also covers the precisely studied and evaluated data of the global market players and their scope in the market using a number of analytical tools.

Main topics that are discussed in the report include:

• A complete backdrop analysis, which includes an assessment of the parent market.
• Important changes in market dynamics.
• Market segmentation up to the second or third level.
• Historical, current, and projected size of the market from the standpoint of both value and volume.
• Reporting and evaluation of recent industry developments.
• Market shares and strategies of key players.
• Emerging niche segments and regional markets.

To request a free sample of this market report click here.

AREA members Atheer have announced their acquisition with SpaceView.  SpaceView is a company which creates technologies that allow other organisations to combine their digital and physical work spaces which then transforms their mobile industrial professionals work.

According to WeAreWVProud.com this acquisition will allow Atheer customers to enhance ways they visualize and place 3D virtual objects in the real world, creating richer Mixed Reality experiences. This acquisition means that Atheer will have extended their growing portfolio of innovative AR and MR technologies and capabilities. The article believes that SpaceView have held several patents relating to the representation of 3D objects in 2D environments which will complement Atheer’s own patent portfolio.

Soulaiman Itani, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Atheer said “We’re constantly looking for ways to enhance our offerings and SpaceView has an amazing product and solid team for us to build on. By bringing this new technology to our AiR products, we’ll be able to give our customers the ability to build better mixed reality experiences across the broadest range of smart glass and other AR platforms.”

According to an article on Business wire the first Augmented Reality surgical procedure took place using a technology known as Novarad’s OpenSight. This technology uses the Microsoft HoloLens, and can help with 3D imaging, advanced segmentation and rendering.

Novarad Corporation, a leader in the development of medical imaging software, created OpenSight to render patient studies into 3D and present them in an interactive manner accurately overlaid directly onto the patient’s body. This leverages a host of advanced technologies including 3D imaging, advanced segmentation and rendering, registration, motion correction, virtual tools and 3D annotation technologies.

The doctor who performed the operation, Dr. Wendell Gibby said “This is very new stuff. It’s the first procedure I’m aware of that has done this in the world. People have performed some work with 3D models and simulations. We had some papers recently at the ASNR [American Society of Neuroradiology] about this, but it’s the first time we’ve tried it on a patient.”

Using the HoloLens technology, OpenSight registers medical imaging studies such as MRIs and CTs over the patient in real time, enabling the wearer to both see the patient and see through the patient with dynamic holograms of their internal anatomy.

To read the full article, click here.

A recent article this week by MobileMarketingWatch.com discusses the research by ABI Research which forecasted that Enterprise Wearable camera shipments will reach nearly 24 million by 2022. It points out that security protocols will need establishing, since as growth increases, so will privacy and data protection concerns.

The research indicates that the enterprise wearable camera market will continue to see growth through law enforcement, field services, and first responder applications due to their ability to collect evidence and record interactions.  They do express their concerns, however, about privacy and data protection.

Stephanie Lawrence, Research Analyst at ABI Research said “Despite clear advantages to the usage of this technology, enterprises fear attacks from cybercriminals and data theft. With massive data leaks often reaching mainstream news, public concern is rising over the security of wearable camera recordings, including who has access to such footage and for how long.”

To read ABI’s research on the Enterprise Wearable Cameras: Devices, Use Cases and Supplier Ecosystem Analysis report click here.