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ABI Research has argued in its latest note that wearables in the manufacturing and field services verticals represent one quarter of devices shipped to end users in 2016, while video collaboration software developer Pristine says that more than half of its customers have moved from pilot programs to full-scale production deployments with its smart glasses range.

The forecast from ABI Research notes that shipments of enterprise wearable will increase threefold to top 35 million units in 2021, with continuous improvements made in this segment by Epson, Microsoft, ODG, and Vuzix.

Wearable devices such as digital eyewear could be used by warehouse workers to assess equipment, measure status, or perform troubleshooting, instead of handheld scanners and paper picklists to execute the fulfillment process, the analysts argue. This traditional method is estimated to account for 55% of total operating expense. 

“Wearables make IoT data not only actionable but also efficient when used in multi-device IoT ecosystems,” said Ryan Martin, senior analyst at ABI Research.

Elsewhere, professional services company Bureau Veritas entered into a pilot program with Pristine in early 2016, and is now in the middle of deploying more than 500 global licenses for EyeSight, which offers streamed video and hands free collaboration for both smart glasses and smartphones, after successfully proving the business case.

“Leveraging the innovation developed by Pristine on smart glass technology provides Bureau Veritas with a distinct competitive advantage, and a new suite of services to offer our customers,” said Tom Redlinger, Bureau Veritas COO. “Our efforts to enhance the digital services within the testing, inspection and certification (TIC) market, inclusive of the Pristine smart glass technology, is expected to be a driver of exponential growth at Bureau Veritas.”

Other customers that transitioned from pilot to production in 2016 include Commonwealth Care of Roanoke, OCME Inc., Erie Insurance and Wafergen Biosystems. Peter Evans, CEO of Pristine, said that one customer was able to perform 30% more inspections per week while another achieved a five times return on investment through remote troubleshooting of engineering issues.

“Companies are realising the value of hands-free mobile collaboration technology for improving efficiency, reducing time to resolution, and increasing employee productivity and satisfaction,” said Evans.

 

Interested in hearing industry leaders discuss subjects like this and sharing their IoT use-cases? Attend the IoT Tech Expo World Series events with upcoming shows in Silicon Valley, London and Amsterdam to learn more.

The show is co-located with the AI & Big Data Expo, Cyber Security & Cloud Expo and Blockchain Expo so you can explore the entire ecosystem in one place.