Google Glass EE Coming to a Warehouse Near You

Over fifty Enterprise Edition (EE) clients including DHL, Boeing, Volkswagen and GE piloted an enhanced and targeted version of Glass to boost quality and productivity, beginning back in early 2015.  The EE team and glass model are distinctly separate from the consumer device. These projects have been under wraps, until this week and now broader market penetration could be possible.   

The product will now be available through an expected 30+ partners that support customized and complete solutions including Picavi, focused on “pick-by vision” for logistics, Ubimax, with solutions for front-line staff including logistics and manufacturing, as well as Wizzan designed for hands-on work including warehouses and assembly.

The value proposition includes real-time insights, delivered hands free for routine duties in the workplace; allowing employees to fluctuate seamlessly between the physical and the assisted virtual world.  

The Enterprise Group in X worked with pilot clients as well as diverse companies to adapt Glass for their own distinctive use cases. Companies can opt to connect them to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)-certified safety shields. Improvements from the previous consumer version include speedier, stable Wi-Fi, improved security and speedier processing, along with greater battery life and a camera enhanced from five to eight megapixels.

Adoption is likely to include substitution of PC usage (often shared) or ruggedized tablets with glasses for the warehouse or assembly line. Employees have the option to choose to operate by swiping across the frame’s side or operate through voice ala personal assistants. Advantages in the workplace can include optimized and mobile training support, improved processing and reduced errors in completing routine tasks (through required digital QA compliance), which have delivered real world ROI to early implementers. Additionally, employers may now (subject to workplace restrictions) have the ability to collect a plethora of analytics on their employees including movement, attention span and workplace exchanges with fellow employees, managers and customers.

Potential issues can arise including enterprise network security connectivity and privacy/worker’s rights concerns that will likely need to be institutionalized including removal during lunch and rest breaks. The difference between the consumer version 1.0 and the enterprise edition lies in the pivot from a publically invasive, geeky aspirational device to a singularly focused solution that can enable a wearable workplace assistant. DHL recently stated that their integration helped improve productivity by an estimated 15% and GE experienced efficiency gains between 8-12 percent.

Microsoft HoloLens (powered by a Windows 10 PC, but limited hours of usage and view) has been trying to make greater inroads and other cheaper versions are developing including Mira Prism for US$100, which leverages an iPhone and may be of interest to small businesses. Other start-ups include WaveOptics which has funding from Robert Bosch Venture Capital.  Even Apple is said to be working on AR glasses after significant investment. Overall, Glass appears to offer a lighter weight device than some of its competition and now provides a more streamlined usage. Pricing could be a potential factor in small-medium sized business adoption with some providers such as Ubimax estimating a cost about US$1735 per device (versus the original consumer devices priced at US$1500), not including subscription fees for the software.

The journey continues to bring assisted and or augmented reality into a variety of workplace environments. There is now renewed attention to use cases in blue collar and beyond workforces. These encompass a variety of tasks that deliver human/machine interaction as a way to generate greater efficiencies and improved workplace acceptance.