Google Glass is back, this time for the business sector
At GE Aviation, teams use the glasses to perform complex tasks that used to require a paper manual
The original augmented reality spectacles are back. But this time, the business of Google Glass is business.
After a rough consumer launch in 2013 that at times saw wearers of Google’s innovative $1,500 wearable computer derided as “Glassholes,” the company quietly spent the past few years partnering with software companies and around 50 businesses to build out the enterprise possibilities of Glass.
“We first saw signs of Glass’ potential for businesses in the Glass Explorer days,” project lead Jay Kothari wrote in a blog post Tuesday announcing Glass Enterprise Edition’s broader availability through a range of global partners that deploy AR glasses to businesses.
“We’d been seeing incredible developments with Glass in the workplace, and now the Glass product team is back at X (Google’s special projects division),” Kothari said. “We’ll be collaborating with the Google Cloud team and our partners to help customers across a variety of business sectors make the most of Glass.”
Kothari’s post notes how teams at GE Aviation use the revamped Glass — which features improved battery life, a better camera and Glass-to- Glass connectivity — to perform complex mechanical tasks that previously required consulting a massive paper man- ual. DHL package sorters have increased their efficiency by 15% by getting information projected into their line of sight via Glass, thereby freeing up their hands.
Glass had a rocky start. Beyond the cultural slams, the AR specs immediately generated both privacy (was someone photographing me?) and safety concerns (wearing Glass meant having a small TV screen in the upper right corner of your field of view.
After deciding to regroup and shift away from a consumer focus in 2015, the Glass team left the X division and was put under the stewardship of Tony Fadell, the Nest electronics founder Google brought in house with its $3.2 billion Nest purchase.
But just more than a year later, Fadell resigned from Google. The one-time Apple engineer cited a desire to be at the forefront of new projects.
Google’s Glass looks similar to the first version and is powered by software hidden inside the product’s temple.
A small, externally facing camera can capture images that can be shared with other Glass wearers within a company. A tiny projection device screens anything from health data to manufacturing schematics.