Beyond Google Glass: The wearable tech that will revolutionize business
Beyond Google Glass: The wearable tech that
will revolutionize business
Think wearable technology is only about porn
on your glasses, silly watches, and digital pedometers for runners? Think
again. Companies like SAP, Epson, IBM, Plantronics, and even Walt Disney are
bringing wearable technology to business.
In the not-too-distant future, mechanics will
see the schematics of heavy equipment they need to repair on a heads-up
display, and flexible semiconductors will be implemented within the bodies of
patients to broadcast data to their doctors. Office workers will connect
directly with customer data via a telephonelike headset, and visitors to
Disneyland will wear wristbands that double as admission tickets, hotels keys,
and payment cards.
Check out these real-world examples of
wearable tech geared toward transforming business.
SAP and Vizux: Heads-up data delivery
Who says wearable technology is only for the
digerati? Not SAP vice president Paul Boril. The German software giant is
teaming up with Vuzix, a developer of connected eyewear, to bring wearable
technology to industry.
A forklift driver will soon don glasses
connected to a smartphone on her belt that can access data from a server that
is then displayed in front of her eyes. The glasses guide workers to products
on their pick lists; once at the shelf, workers can scan the bar code to make
sure they have the correct item and confirm it has been picked. Boril says that
energy companies, railways, and hospitals are also interested in this heads-up
approach to delivering data.
SAP and
Vizux: Maintenance made easy
Order fulfillment is only half
the SAP-Vuzix story.
Suppose that driver's forklift
has a problem. Normally that means taking the equipment out of service. But if
it's relatively simple, the driver can call a technician to walk through a
checklist -- complete with visual prompts -- and make the fix on the spot.
An SAP app being discussed
would allow railway workers to inspect train wheels by simply looking at them.
The glasses would then check to see if the wheels are still in round. If they
are not, they'll be "painted" red; if they are, they'll appear green.
Yellow? Too close to call, and the mechanic will have to perform a manual
check.
Disney: Enhancing the guest experience
With millions of visitors pouring into its
theme parks every year, the Walt Disney Co. is always looking for ways to
improve the experience of its guests. Disney is now testing wearable tech
called a MagicBand, an RF device containing a bit of code that communicates
with the park's servers. (The bands themselves contain no data.)
Guests who want to use the MagicBand will fill
out some basic preferences and information on the Disney website and use it to
enter their Disney Resort hotel room and theme park, make a fast-pass
reservation for a popular ride, and buy food and merchandise, all with a tap on
a reader.
Epson
and APX Labs: Data mining at a glance
A squad of Marines is
patrolling an unfriendly city. As their vehicle passes a crowd of men, the
soldiers' headsets focus on their faces, and using facial recognition software,
potential enemies are identified. That's not a reality yet, but it is an application
under development by Epson and APX Labs. The hardware, which is already
available for consumers, is Epson's Moverio BT-100, an Android-based set of 3D
glasses.
Using another Epson/APX app,
firefighters battling a dangerous brushfire could get information on where the
flames are headed and be pointed to hot spots that need to be doused.
Epson and Scope Technologies: Visual repair
instructions
Fixing a complex pump on site can be a
challenge for a technician. Juggling tools while holding a bulky repair manual
wastes time. Instead, an application being developed by Epson and Scope
Technologies will allow the mechanic to look at the pump and get visual instructions
on what parts to remove and how to replace them safely.
This application is also built around the
Moverio BT-100. The glasses use a built-in camera to provide instructions and
animated diagrams to the wearer, which are overlaid directly onto the person's
field of view as he or she goes about completing the task. Computer CAD models
that are fed into a content management system are used to provide instructions
for the unit.
Plantronics: Programmable headset
Telephone headsets are hardly new, but Plantronics
has elevated that mundane device to the level of wearable computer technology.
Its Voyager Legend UC integrates with a user's other hardware and software. On
the simplest level, the headset identifies incoming callers and announces them
verbally via integration with the user's address book. A spoken command answers
the call or sends it to voicemail.
Using the company's APIs, developers can write
more advanced applications like this: A call comes in via an iOS or Android
device; the headset checks to see if that person is in the user's Salesforce
database. If so, the information is automatically pulled up on the user's PC --
no more fumbling around while the caller waits.
IBM: The tiny bit of silicon that could save
lives
Suppose a semiconductor were flexible. You
could make a chip that could be sewn into your clothes to monitor your heart.
That tiny bit of silicon could also be placed inside your body, and when
equipped with an antenna and surrounded by bio-safe packaging, it could inform
doctors of your condition long before it becomes critical.
Using a process called "spalling,"
researchers at IBM's Watson Research Center can literally peel off the very top
layer of a semiconductor. Although the slice is 10,000 times thinner than a
sheet of paper, it retains the functionality of the underlying circuit, while
consuming a mere 0.6 volt of power, and could cover or roll on top of almost
anything, says IBM's Stephen Bedell.
Comments
Post a Comment