Smart glasses are beneficial for industries requiring inspections and equipment maintenance activities
The most innovative type of wearable technology that is in our lives for several years is smart glasses. These wearables have integrated software that supports Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and GPS. Because they have a screen to display information, smart glasses have almost all the features of a smartphone. Smart glasses include a crucial additional feature — they are head-mounted, and users can use their hands to execute different activities and operations.
Smart glasses may be used, for example, within the inspection processes, in processes of system/equipment installation, or maintenance processes.
These devices are used by the companies in the industrial sectors to control their internal loops and for remote audits in the areas. Using smart glasses integrated with a remote assistance platform, the person conducting the audit can convert visual data into documents and can take photos or videos. The auditor will do all these actions and activities hands-free, by using voice commands. The expert conducting the audit can follow all required steps in the process through smart glasses, access visual instructions, and even videos, thus avoiding individual errors and possible gaps.
Similarly, smart glasses can be used by engineers when installing various equipment, for example when deploying new technologies like 5G in Telecom, or in datacenters for new computing or networking equipment for deploying new cloud or edge computing solutions. The engineers will see through their smart glasses not only the location as is, but they can superimpose holograms or the virtual rendering of the new equipment to be installed. As the installation is progressing, engineers can use the remote assistance platforms to consult the step-by-step procedures, take photos of the equipment installed and compare this with the technical plans, or request assistance from different experts.
Routine maintenance for various types of equipment (e.g., industrial, Telecom, or IT and Networking) is vital for both work safety and business continuity. Moreover, most of these maintenance activities are required by the law. Completing maintenance of the equipment and machines remotely, by using remote assistance platforms that are supported by smart glasses, radically shortens maintenance processes and eliminates wasting money and time required for the experts to reach the location.
Field workers who perform their tasks by using smart glasses on equipment and machine maintenance processes can easily access the checklists by using voice commands and see the data on their glasses’ screens. All these will allow them to execute the maintenance activities quickly, safely, and at high standards. Field workers can move through hard-to-reach areas such as tunnels or climb radio masts by using hands-free features, so their comfort while working is not affected by the device.
Furthermore, even the field workers who do not have sufficient knowledge of the equipment or machines will be to use remote assistance platforms thanks to the user-friendly platform interfaces.
Smart glasses are already being used to improve quality, standardize workflows, accelerate decision-making, and enhance communication in logistics, manufacturing, and installation and maintenance operations throughout various industries.
