While wearable technologies struggle to get footing in the consumer market, the devices are already stirring a full-on technological revolution behind the factory walls.
Author(s): Travis Hessman
Sep. 17, 2015
In the consumer world, we generally think of wearables as something new and exciting—a piece of sci-fi futurism just starting to come to life. It's something to watch, something that could one day be the next be thing.
However, a new report suggests that the wearable revolution is already well underway in the industrial sector.
According to the report, "State of Enterprise Wearables," a whopping 93% of the large industrial companies surveyed in the study indicated that they are already either evaluating or using some kind of wearable device today.
That kind of ubiquitous support and interest is unprecedented, especially for such a nascent industry.
APX Labs
"We are experiencing an invisible revolution," says Brian Ballard, CEO and co-founder of APX Labs – the Virginia-based wearable software provider that commissioned the study.
While the consumer world is just now beginning to embrace wearables in our everyday lives, he explains, in the manufacturing world these smart watches and glasses, these wearable scanners and cameras are already being deployed at a furious rate.
"Almost all of this is happening underneath the factory floor—it's happening out in field service companies," he says. "It's not something you just pick up at Best Buy; it's work first."
Consumer vs Industry
The main difference between these two markets, it seems, is basic utility. Out in the consumer world, Google Glasses and Apple Watches are basically just nifty gadgets that help us stay connected. But on the plant floor, they can be powerful manufacturing tools.
Of the 201 companies surveyed for the APX Labs report, 90% said they believe wearables will provide "significant benefits in reducing time, effort, and re-work while also improving quality, safety, and process flexibility."
Backing that up, the report also highlights a Gartner Research study that estimates that smart glasses will yield $1 billion in annual cost savings in the field service industry alone.
So in this realm, these are hardly just nifty gadgets.
APX Labs
Another big different, Ballard notes, is that, under the factory roof, smart technologies and big data communication is already decades ahead of the outside world.
"The Internet of Things is 20 years old inside industry; it's already well established," he says.
Already today, he explains, factories are equipped with smart machines and communication protocols that offer high data rates communicating over low-cost, hi-fidelity Wi-Fi systems. Companies have already dug deep into big data and big analytics to increase efficiency and intelligence.
"The piece of the equation that has been missing is, once you have machines connected to analytics, how do you move forward into it?" Ballard argues. "Wearable technology is the interface into the connected Internet of Things—it is the most accessible, natural interface that we have today."
Wearable Barriers
This is not to say that dropping wearables into an industrial environment is without complication, though.
APX Labs
Generally, two issues are at the top of the barrier list: Cost and Security.
According to the report, nearly 70% of large companies (5,001+ employees) highlighted security as their top concern. That's not surprising, given the mature – and often complicated – cyber security measures these companies have in place.
The cost issue – again, not surprisingly – was the top concern for mid-sized companies (1,001-5,000 employees) for whom wide deployment of $1,000 glasses of $500 watches can wipe out a big chunk of the budget.
However, the biggest concern not mentioned in the report – but mentioned often among manufacturers – is the fear of so-called "distracted manufacturing."
For many, the idea of setting workers out in a plant filled with heavy equipment, moving machines, and a million hazards with a screen stuck to their faces defies their basic notion of industrial safety.
Ballard, however, is not so concerned.
"We definitely get that quite a bit," he says. "Depending on the customer, there might be a couple of ways to address it."
First, he says, if this is a hard and fast requirement in a factory, companies can simply be sure that the screen is not on while workers are moving. Simple enough.
The other point, he notes, is that "distracted manufacturing" might be a far greater fear than it should be.
"Just think about the amount of activities that people do a day in which their peripheral vision is blocked but they are still able to navigate safely. When you're driving, you're in a car that blocks, frankly, the majority of your peripheral vision," he says. "You still have instrumentation up, your speedometer, your odometer. These are critical tools to your job and they are always a glance away.
"Maybe one way to think of it is smart glasses might be the odometer for your job."
Furthermore, he argues, this concern might be ignoring our natural ability to adapt to these distractions.
"I've played a lot of sports in high school and college that required me to wear a helmet that blocked a good portion of my vision, but I could still play that position incredibly well," he says. "Your body learns to adapt to the equipment that you're wearing."
"And think about fighter pilots," he adds. "They are wearing heads up displays going past the speed of sound in multimillion dollar machines and they have been doing it for over 30 years."
What's Next?
While this report shows a strong movement already underway in the industrial wearable market, there remains a big wave of adoption still waiting to come through.
"We have 93% penetration in brands using wearables, but we aren't at 93% of user population within these companies yet," Ballard says.
While today actual users wearing these device in the factory or in the field are still a rather small minority, the report indicates that, on average, respondents expect to deploy them to about 45% of their employee base.
"The fact that there are so many companies that have recognized this as an opportunity to connect and entire cross-section of the workforce is fantastic," Ballard says. "But there is still a lot of growth to come."
APX LabsAnother big different, Ballard notes, is that, under the factory roof, smart technologies and big data communication is already decades ahead of the outside world.
"The Internet of Things is 20 years old inside industry; it's already well established," he says.
Already today, he explains, factories are equipped with smart machines and communication protocols that offer high data rates communicating over low-cost, hi-fidelity Wi-Fi systems. Companies have already dug deep into big data and big analytics to increase efficiency and intelligence.
"The piece of the equation that has been missing is, once you have machines connected to analytics, how do you move forward into it?" Ballard argues. "Wearable technology is the interface into the connected Internet of Things—it is the most accessible, natural interface that we have today."
Wearable Barriers
This is not to say that dropping wearables into an industrial environment is without complication, though.
APX Labs Generally, two issues are at the top of the barrier list: Cost and Security.
According to the report, nearly 70% of large companies (5,001+ employees) highlighted security as their top concern. That's not surprising, given the mature – and often complicated – cyber security measures these companies have in place.
The cost issue – again, not surprisingly – was the top concern for mid-sized companies (1,001-5,000 employees) for whom wide deployment of $1,000 glasses of $500 watches can wipe out a big chunk of the budget.
However, the biggest concern not mentioned in the report – but mentioned often among manufacturers – is the fear of so-called "distracted manufacturing."
For many, the idea of setting workers out in a plant filled with heavy equipment, moving machines, and a million hazards with a screen stuck to their faces defies their basic notion of industrial safety.
Ballard, however, is not so concerned.
"We definitely get that quite a bit," he says. "Depending on the customer, there might be a couple of ways to address it."
First, he says, if this is a hard and fast requirement in a factory, companies can simply be sure that the screen is not on while workers are moving. Simple enough.
The other point, he notes, is that "distracted manufacturing" might be a far greater fear than it should be.
"Just think about the amount of activities that people do a day in which their peripheral vision is blocked but they are still able to navigate safely. When you're driving, you're in a car that blocks, frankly, the majority of your peripheral vision," he says. "You still have instrumentation up, your speedometer, your odometer. These are critical tools to your job and they are always a glance away.
"Maybe one way to think of it is smart glasses might be the odometer for your job."
Furthermore, he argues, this concern might be ignoring our natural ability to adapt to these distractions.
"I've played a lot of sports in high school and college that required me to wear a helmet that blocked a good portion of my vision, but I could still play that position incredibly well," he says. "Your body learns to adapt to the equipment that you're wearing."
"And think about fighter pilots," he adds. "They are wearing heads up displays going past the speed of sound in multimillion dollar machines and they have been doing it for over 30 years."
What's Next?
While this report shows a strong movement already underway in the industrial wearable market, there remains a big wave of adoption still waiting to come through.
"We have 93% penetration in brands using wearables, but we aren't at 93% of user population within these companies yet," Ballard says.
While today actual users wearing these device in the factory or in the field are still a rather small minority, the report indicates that, on average, respondents expect to deploy them to about 45% of their employee base.
"The fact that there are so many companies that have recognized this as an opportunity to connect and entire cross-section of the workforce is fantastic," Ballard says. "But there is still a lot of growth to come."
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