Key use cases for wearables

I want to talk a bit about some of the benefits and key use cases solved by deploying wearables, especially smart glasses, into the field force environment.

Right now, I'm working across a multitude of industries, including Oil and Gas, Resources, Mining, and Aerospace, and I'm consistently seeing the same use cases crop up.

Primarily, these use cases relate to building a more efficient and effective workforce.

Today, workers in the field depend on either paper instructions which can be easily lost of damaged, or digitized instructions which require the worker to take their eyes and hands off of their work.

Smart glasses are changing this by providing the ability for workers to access comprehensive work instructions in a hands free way.

The main use cases I'm seeing are
Over the shoulder coaching
Providing remote expert capability, where a worker in the field can call an expert across the world and show exactly what the problem is by using the devices video camera. By tightening the feedback loop, field force workers can do more by leveraging expert resources

Visual work instructions
Guiding workers through complex tasks by providing a means to navigate complex instructions leveraging text, pictures, movies, and 3d models. By enabling a lessor skilled worker to do more advanced tasks, companies can save big money while still improving work force effectiveness.

Procedural checklists
Imagine being able to not only view checklists in a digital medium, but also automatically update backend systems with completion information, photos, and annotated information. Smart glasses are providing the means to ensure tasks are completed, and create a level of accountability by recording all the necessary information. Gone will be the days of lost/neglected paper forms.

In a later blog, we'll talk about how AR and VR are starting to play a big part in these solutions

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