Wearable: turning operators into iron men

Have you ever heard of wearable technology? If the answer was no, you just must not have linked the name to the person. Or in this case, the accessory. Literally, these are “wearable technologies” and can be found in the form of watches, glasses, gloves, rings, insoles, headphones and smart bracelets.

Figure 1 – Wearable technology

Source: Contegix

Many specialists believe that we are on the way to a revolution and, in the same way that tablets and cell phones have pushed desktops to the sidelines, in the future it will be wearables that will take the place of smartphones. In fact, we still do not experience this reality, because although we have already heard a lot about the Google Glass and see the Apple Watch gaining popularity, this type of technology has not yet reached the masses. And, contrary to what happened with smartphones, the path to massification can come from the business world. More specifically the logistics.

Portable devices such as voice systems and scanners have been used in warehouses for a long time. However, what we are seeing now is the newest generation of wearables emerging, combining voice recognition technology along with smart glasses equipped with GPS, scanning systems and a host of other features. And the Internet of Things (IoT) creating fully connected warehouses.

At the beginning of last year, DHL carried out a pilot project at its warehouse located in the Netherlands. During 3 weeks, 10 warehouse operators used only SmartGlasses (Google Glass and VuzixM100 models) in the operation. No scanner or hand list of items. The result of the experiment was a true indication of the potential of this technology: the dynamic graphics displayed on the lenses of the glasses allowed operators to be hands-free throughout the entire process, increasing productivity by 25% and freeing the operation from errors. See Video 1 for more details about the experiment carried out by DHL.

Video 1 – Vision Picking at DHL – Augmented Reality in Logistics

Source: DHL

Another test is currently being carried out by Volkswagen at its factory located in Wolfsburg, Germany. The automaker is testing the use of smartwatches and RFID wristbands in its order-assembly operations. While SmartWatches allow operators to scan barcodes much faster than a typical handheld scanner, the clamps act as failsafe devices, beeping every time the operator picks up a wrong part. The aim is to make the whole process more stable, fast and efficient.

In order to implement all this technology on a large scale in warehouses, a high investment of resources and time is still required, which has meant that the devices have not yet taken off in operations. However, the potential of wearables is enormous. In addition to the already mentioned increase in efficiency and a decrease in errors, it is possible to imagine even greater benefits. Smart glasses equipped with augmented reality can ensure real-time visibility of the status of orders and volumes in stock, allowing companies, for example, to dynamically price their products based on the availability of items.

Apparently, it's a matter of time for fashion to take hold in the factories and distribution centers of large companies and more and more people experience a bit of Tony Stark's experience.