Transcript of a discussion on how workers in harsh conditions are gaining ease in accessing and interacting with the best intelligence thanks to a cloud-enabled, hands-free, voice-activated, and multimedia wearable computer.
Industrial-Strength Wearables Combine with Collaboration Cloud to Bring Anywhere Expertise to Intelligent-Edge Work Tasks
1. Page 1 of 8
Industrial-Strength Wearables
Combine with Collaboration Cloud
to Bring Anywhere Expertise to
Intelligent-Edge Work Tasks
Transcript of a discussion on how workers in harsh conditions are gaining ease in accessing and
interacting with the best intelligence thanks to a cloud-enabled, hands-free, voice-activated, and
multimedia wearable computer.
Listen to the podcast. Find it on iTunes. Download the transcript. Sponsor: Hewlett
Packard Enterprise.
Dana Gardner: Hello, and welcome to the next edition of the BriefingsDirect Voice of
the Customer podcast series. I’m Dana Gardner, Principal Analyst at Interarbor
Solutions, your host and moderator for this ongoing discussion on digital transformation
success stories.
Our next industrial-edge innovation use-case examines how RealWear, Inc. and Hewlett
Packard Enterprise (HPE) MyRoom combine to provide workers in harsh conditions
ease in accessing and interacting with the best intelligence. We’ll now learn how a
hands-free, voice-activated, and multimedia wearable computer solves the last few feet
issue for delivering a business’ best data and visual assets to some of its most critical
onsite workers.
Here to describe the new high-water mark for wearable
augmented collaboration technologies are Jan
Josephson, Sales Director for EMEA at RealWear.
Welcome to BriefingsDirect, Jan.
Jan Josephson: Thank you, very much. I’m happy to be
here.
Gardner: We’re also joined by John “JT” Thurgood,
Director of Sales for UK, Ireland, and Benelux at
RealWear. Welcome, JT.
John “JT” Thurgood: Thank you, Dana, it’s good to be
here.
Gardner: A variety of technologies have come together to create the RealWear solution.
Tell us why nowadays a hands-free, wearable computer needs to support multimedia
and collaboration solutions to get the job done.
Josephson
2. Page 2 of 8
Hands-free help
Thurgood: Over time, our industrial workers have
moved through a digitization journey as they find the best
ways to maintain and manage equipment in the field.
They need a range of tools and data to do that. So, it
could be an engineer wearing personal protective
equipment in the field. He may be up on scaffolding. He
typically needs a big bundle of paperwork, such as visual
schematics, and all kinds of authorization documents.
This is typically what an engineer takes into the field.
What we are trying to do is make his life easier.
You can imagine it. An engineer gets to an industrial site,
gets permission to be near the equipment, and has his
schematics and drawings he takes into that often-harsh environment. His hands are full.
He’s trying to balance and juggle everything while trying to work his way through that
authorization process prior to actually getting on and doing the job – of being an
engineer or a technician.
We take that need for physical documentation away from him and put it on an Android
device, which is totally voice-controlled and hands-free. A gyroscope built into the device
allows specific and appropriate access to all of those documents. He can even freeze at
particular points in the document. He can refer to it visually by glancing down, because
the screen is just below eye-line.
The information is available but not interfering
from a safety perspective, and it’s not stopping
him from doing his job. He has that screen
access while working with his hands. The
speakers in the unit also help guide him via
verbal instructions through whatever the process
may be, and he doesn’t even have to be looking
at documentation.
He can follow work orders and processes. And, if he hits a brick wall -- he gets to a
problem where even after following work processes, going through documentation, and it
this still doesn’t look right -- what does he do? Well, he needs to phone a buddy, right?
The way he does that is the visual remote guidance (VRG) MyRoom solution from HPE.
He gets the appropriate expert on the line, and that expert can be thousands of miles
away. The expert can see what’s going on through the 16-megapixel camera on the
RealWear device. And he can talk him through the problem, even in harsh conditions
because there are four noise-canceling microphones on the device. So, the expert can
give detailed, real-time guidance as to how to solve the problem.
Thurgood
The information is available but
not interfering from a safety
perspective, and it’s not
stopping him from doing his job.
3. Page 3 of 8
You know, Dana, typically that would take weeks of waiting for an expert to be available.
The cost involved in getting the guy on-site to go and resolve the issue is expensive.
Now we are enabling that end-technician to get any assistance he needs, once he is at
the right place, at the right time.
Gardner: What was the impetus to create the RealWear HMT-1? Was there a specific
use case or demand that spurred the design?
Military inspiration, enterprise adoption
Thurgood: Our chief technology officer (CTO), Dr. Chris Parkinson, was working in
another organization that was focused on manufacturing military-grade screens. He saw
an application opportunity for that in the enterprise environment.
And it now has wide applicability -- whether it’s in the oil and gas industry, automotive,
and construction. I’ve even had journalists wanting to use this device, like having a
mobile cameraman.
He foresaw a wide range of use-cases, and so worked with a team -- with our chief
executive officer (CEO), Andy Lowery -- to pull together a device. That design is IP66-
rated, it’s hardened, and it can be used in all weather, from -20C to 50C, to do all sorts
of different jobs.
The impetus was that there was nothing in the marketplace that provides these
capabilities. People today are using iPads and tablets to do their jobs, but their hands
are full. You can’t do the rest of the tasks that you may need to do using your hands.
We now have more than 10,000 RealWear devices in the field in all sorts of industrial
areas. I have named a few verticals, but we’re discovering new verticals day-by-day.
Gardner: Jan, what were some of the requirements that led you to collaborate with HPE
MyRoom and VRG? Why was that such a good fit?
Learn More About Software-Defined
And Hybrid Cloud Solutions
That Reduce Complexity
Josephson: There are a couple of things HPE does extremely well in this field. In these
remote, expert applications in particular, HPE designed their applications really well from
a user experience (UX) perspective.
At the end of the day, we have users out there and many of them are not necessarily
engineers. So the UX side of an application is very important. You can’t have a lot of
things clogging up your screen and making things too complicated. The interface has to
be super simple.
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The other thing that is really important for our customers is the way HPE does
compression with their networked applications. This is essential because many times -- if
you are out on an oil rig or in the middle of nowhere -- you don’t have the luxury of Wi-Fi
or a 4G network. You are in the field.
The HPE solution, due to the compression, enables very high-quality video even at very-
low bandwidth. This is very important for a lot of our customers. HPE is also taking their
platform and enabling it to operate on-premises. That is becoming important because of
security requirements. Some of the large users want a complete solution inside of their
firewall.
So it’s a very impressive piece of software, and we’re very happy that we are in this
partnership with HPE MyRoom.
Gardner: In effect, it’s a cloud application now -- but it can become a hybrid application,
too.
Connected from the core to the edge
Thurgood: What’s really unique, too, is that HPE has now built-in object recognition
within the toolset. So imagine you’re wearing the RealWear HMT-1, you’re looking at a
pump, a gas filter, or some industrial object. The technology is now able to identify that
object and provide you with the exact work orders and documentation related to it.
We’re now able to expand out from the
historic use-case of expert remote visual
guidance support into doing so much
more. HPE has really pushed the
boundaries out on the solution.
Gardner: It’s a striking example of the newfound power of connecting a core cloud
capability with an edge device, and with full interactivity. Ultimately, this model brings the
power of artificial intelligence (AI) running on a data center to that edge, and so
combines it with the best of human intelligence and dexterity. It’s the best of all worlds.
JT, how is this device going to spur new kinds of edge intelligence?
Thurgood: It’s another great question because 5G is now coming to bear as well as Wi-
Fi. So, all of a sudden, almost no matter where you are, you can have devices that are
always connected via broadband. The connectivity will become ubiquitous.
Now, what does that do? It means never having an offline device. All of the data, all of
your Internet of Things (IoT) analytics and augmented and assisted reality will all be
made available to that remote user.
We’re now able to expand out from
the historic use-case of expert
remote visual guidance support into
doing so much more.
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So, we are looking at the superhuman
versions of engineers and technicians.
Historically you had a guy with paperwork.
Now, if he’s always connected, he always
has all the right documentation and is able to
act and resolve tasks with all of the power
and the assistance he needs. And it’s always
available right now.
So, yes, we are going to see more intellectual value being moved down to the remote,
edge user.
At RealWear, we see ourselves as a knowledge-transfer company. We want the user of
this device to be the conduit through which you can feed all cloud-analyzed data. As
time goes by, some of the applications will reside in the cloud as well as on the local
device. For higher-order analytics there is a hell of a lot of churning of data required to
provide the best end results. So, that’s our prediction.
Learn More About Software-Defined
And Hybrid Cloud Solutions
That Reduce Complexity
Gardner: When you can extend the best intelligence to any expert around the world, it’s
very powerful concept.
For those listening to or reading this podcast, please describe the HMT-1 device. It’s
fairly small and resides within a helmet.
Using your headwear
Thurgood: We have a horseshoe-shaped device with a screen out in front. Typically,
it’s worn within a hat. Let’s imagine, you have a standard cap on your head. It attaches
to the cap with two clips on the sides. You then have a screen that protrudes from the
front of the device that is held just below your eye-line. The camera is mounted on the
side. It becomes a head-worn tablet computer.
It can be worn in hard hats, bump caps, normal baseball caps, or just with straps (and no
hat). It performs regardless of the environment you are in -- be that in wind, rain, gales,
such as working out on an offshore oil and gas rig. Or if you are an automotive
technician, working in a noisy garage, it simply complements the protective equipment
you need to use in the field.
Gardner: When you can bring this level of intelligence and instant access of experts to
the edge, wherever it is, you’re talking about new economics. These type of industrial
We are looking at the superhuman
versions of engineers and
technicians ... if he’s always
connected, he always has all the
right documentation and is able to
act and resolve tasks.
6. Page 6 of 8
use cases can often involve processes where downtime means huge amounts of money
lost. Quickly intercepting a problem and solving it fast can make a huge difference.
Do you have examples that provide a sense of the qualitative and quantitative benefits
when this is put to good use?
Thurgood: There are a number of examples. Take automotive to start with. If you have
a problem with your vehicle today, you typically take it to a dealership. That dealer will
try to resolve the issue as quickly as it can. Let’s say the dealership can’t. There is a
fault on the car that needs some expert assistance. Today, the dealership phones the
head office and says, “Hey, I need an expert to come down and join us. When can you
join us?” And there is typically a long delay.
So, what does that mean? That means my vehicle is off the road. It means I have to
have a replacement vehicle. And that expert has to come out from head office to spend
time traveling to be on-site to resolve the issue.
What can happen now using the RealWear device in conjunction with the HPE VRG
MyRoom is that the technician contacts the expert engineer remotely and gets
immediate feedback and assistance on resolving the fault. As you can imagine, the
customer experience is vastly improved based on resolving the issue in minutes – and
not hours, days, or even weeks.
Josephson: It’s a good example because everyone can relate to a car. Also, nowadays
the car manufacturers are pushing a lot more technology into the cars. They are almost
computers on wheels. When a car has a problem, chances are very slim you will have
the skill-set needed in that local garage.
The whole automotive industry has a big challenge because they have all of these
people in the field who need to learn a lot. Doing it the traditional way -- of getting them
all into a classroom for six weeks -- just doesn’t cut it. So, it’s now all about incident-
based, real-time learning.
Another benefit is that we can record
everything in MyRoom. So if I have a
session that solves a particular problem, I
can take that recording and I have a value
of one-to-many rather than one-to-one. I
can begin building up my intellectual
property, my FAQs, my better customer
service. A whole range of values are being
put in front here.
Gardner: You’re creating an archive, not just a spot solution. That archive can then be
easily accessible at the right time and any place.
Josephson: Right.
Another benefit is that we can
record everything in MyRoom ... if I
have a session that solves a
particular problem, I can take that
recording and I have a value of one-
to-many rather than one-to-one.
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Gardner: For those listeners wondering whether RealWear and VRG are applicable to
their vertical industry, or their particular problem set, what are couple of key questions
that they might ask themselves?
Shared knowhow saves time and money
Thurgood: Do your technicians and engineers need to use their hands? Do they need
to be hands-free? If so, you need a device like this. It’s voice-controlled, it’s mounted on
your head.
Do they wear personal protectant equipment (PPE)? Do they have to wear gloves? If so,
it’s really difficult to use a stylus or poke the screen of a tablet. With RealWear, we
provide a totally hands-free, eyes-forward, very safe deployment of knowledge-transfer
technology in the field.
If you need your hands free in the field, or if you’re working outdoors, up on towers and
so on, it’s a good use of the device.
Josephson: Also, if your business includes field engineers that travel, do you have
many traveling days where you had to go back because you forgot something, or it
wasn’t the right skill-set on the first trip?
If instead you can always have someone available via the device to validate what we
think is wrong and actually potentially fix it, I mean, it’s a huge savings. Fewer return or
duplicate trips.
Learn More About Software-Defined
And Hybrid Cloud Solutions
That Reduce Complexity
Gardner: I’m afraid we’ll have to leave it there. We have been exploring how RealWear
and HPE MyRoom combine to provide workers in harsh conditions ease in accessing
and interacting with the best intelligence.
And we have learned how a hands-free, voice-activated, and multimedia wearable
computer is solving the last few feet issue for delivering a business’ best data and visual
assets to some of its most critical on-site workers.
Please join me in thanking our guests, Jan Josephson, Sales Director for EMEA at
RealWear, and JT, Director of Sales for UK, Ireland, and Benelux at RealWear, which is
based in Vancouver, Washington.
Thurgood: Anytime, Dana. Thank you, very much.
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Gardner: And a big thank you to our audience as well for joining this BriefingsDirect
Voice of the Customer digital transformation success story. I’m Dana Gardner, Principal
Analyst at Interarbor Solutions, your host for this ongoing series of Hewlett Packard
Enterprise-sponsored interviews.
Thanks again for listening. Please pass this on to your IT community, and do come back
next time.
Listen to the podcast. Find it on iTunes. Download the transcript. Sponsor: Hewlett
Packard Enterprise.
Transcript of a discussion on how workers in harsh conditions are gaining ease in accessing and
interacting with the best intelligence thanks to a cloud-enabled, hands-free, voice-activated, and
multimedia wearable computer. Copyright Interarbor Solutions, LLC, 2005-2019. All rights
reserved.
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