- Lightweight augmented reality headsets are improving productivity in the logistics industry.
- AR is expected to make even bigger waves with next-generation headsets that use waveguides and micro-LEDs.
- As wearable AR technology evolves, it has the potential to expand into industries such as retail and hospitality.
- This article is part of Build IT, a series about digital technology and innovation trends that are transforming industries.
This year will be a big year for augmented and mixed reality. Apple’s Vision Pro emphasizes the concept that tomorrow’s computers may be strapped to your head. But AR is already disrupting the way people work, not only in offices but also in warehouses.
A 2017 trends report from global logistics company DHL found that augmented reality headsets increased the productivity of warehouse pickers. up to 15%. About four years later, Coca-Cola published similarly impressive results, finding that AR could improve picking accuracy. As high as 99.9%.
Modern AR headsets, similar to traditional prescription glasses, have the potential to extend productivity benefits to all aspects of logistics and beyond.
“The biggest and most promising area is 100% supply chain,” said Paul Travers. President and CEO of Vuzixis an AR headset manufacturer founded in 1997. “The idea of helping people in the warehouse, helping people at the storefront, augmenting humans in the supply chain is very important, and with the use of AI, it’s becoming a reality. It’s an all-in-one glove. .”
Augmented reality proves its value in warehouses
Some of the companies developing Vuzix headsets include logistics viewwas founded in 2014 to create software that supports automated decision-making and work planning in warehouses. These decisions can be communicated to employees through AR headsets.
Seth Patin, co-founder and CEO of LogistiView, said that when he founded the company, AR “was a great idea, but it wasn’t necessarily practical.” As someone with experience in warehouse management systems, Patin “not only saw the great things about warehouse management systems, but I also saw the gaps,” he told Business Insider.
It was difficult at first. Patin recalled that early deployments that relied on Google’s ill-fated Glass headset tended to overheat. But the hardware has improved, and LogistiView’s customers now include corporate facility services company Cintas, contact lens maker CooperVision, and luxury apparel brand Peter Millar. The latter used “vision picking,” which leverages AR to help workers identify items on the warehouse floor. To handle the surge in orders each holiday season.
Brian Ballard, TeamViewer’s senior vice president of solutions delivery, says AR is also a boon for workers. By providing fulfillment and distribution employees with “real-time, high-fidelity information,” warehouse pickers can be more focused and prepared, he said.
TeamViewer was founded in 2004 with a focus on remote technical support and offers an integrated AR platform called Frontline to help companies fix mistakes before they happen.
A 5% or 10% underpacking in one container is not a disaster, but if that mistake occurs across thousands or tens of thousands of containers, it can be costly. AR headsets can solve this problem with real-time instructions specific to the item being packaged. And if employees need support, they can seek advice from experts remotely.
“Logistics is getting a lot of attention in what we think of as assisted augmented reality. It’s a very high ROI for customers,” Ballard said. “Deployment is not difficult and device availability is good.”
Why not Vision Pro?
However, the devices used in the warehouse may not be what you expect.
With the highest level of visual fidelity, easy-to-use interface, and large app ecosystem, Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest typically command attention when it comes to augmented reality and virtual reality devices. But at the forefront of logistics and manufacturing, AR headsets are slimmer, lighter, and more durable than the Vision Pro or Quest.of Vuzix M4000 They look more like safety glasses than something out of “Ready Player One.”
The realities of warehouse work make this difference. As Patin pointed out, the AR device is used throughout the day and through multiple shifts, worn by two or three people. “It’s a tough environment,” he said. Wearing the Vision Pro, which weighs the same as an iPad, employees who use the headset during eight-hour shifts are tired. It can also be frustrating since you have to frequently replace your device’s battery.
There is another, more fundamental concern. It’s about safety.
“If you’re in an environment that requires protective equipment, you’re not allowed to see the world through your motherboard,” Ballard said.
Fully enclosed AR and VR headsets like the Vision Pro and Quest “pass through” the view of the outside world captured by an external camera, but the results are grainy and reduce the user’s peripheral vision. AR headsets used in busy workplaces must not obstruct the wearer’s vision.
That doesn’t mean the Vision Pro doesn’t have uses in the workplace. TeamViewer has released a version of its remote assistance app. TeamViewer spatial support, in parallel with the launch of Vision Pro. Ballard believes this will be useful not only for factory and warehouse workers, but also for managers and professionals looking to assist them remotely. He explained that it is superior to other devices by providing a “spatial experience to the person trying to help someone in the field.”
Next-generation AR headsets support incognito mode
Augmented reality headsets like the Vuzix M4000 are light enough to wear all day long, but next-generation headsets make you look like a dinosaur. The new hardware will pack the perks of past devices into AR glasses that are indistinguishable from traditional eyewear.Mr. Travers said that waveguides and micro led display.
Waveguides do exactly what they say on the tin, guiding waves from their source to their desired destination. In AR, waveguides are used to redirect light from the display to the headset’s lenses. As a result, the optical system becomes smaller. It’s a Vuzix M4000, which has a small cylinder attached to the headset. Vuzix Z100they look like somewhat bulky prescription glasses.
Waveguides and micro-LED displays go together like peanut butter and jelly. Micro-LED is smaller and brighter than other displays, but uses less power. Vuzix is working with French micro-LED designer Atomicistic to build a 2K resolution, full-color micro-LED display small enough to fit in the temple of an AR headset. A waveguide then guides the display’s light from the temple to the lens. The result is a sleek, seamless design.
of Impact on the use of AR in the workplace It is important. Headsets equipped with this technology could expand AR beyond warehouses to industries where it is not widely used, such as retail and hospitality.
Travers told BI that waveguides could also be integrated directly into prescription glasses to make the technology more seamless. “The fact that the technology might be built in is anybody’s guess,” he says. “We believe that employees are important to the broader market, including front-line businesses. Employees are at the front of the store and around people. You don’t want it to look like that.”