Google has recently taken Google Glass off the market. I suspect that someone at Google finally got this idea, as the press stated that Glass at Work is going to be their focus. A primitive version of this idea is already in use at the Israeli water utility for workers dealing with high voltage, and it can only expand.
A computer controlled human eye, operating a computer controlled human hand will revolutionize the service industry. Not because all the cashiers will be wearing them to ring up your order, but because a minimum wage cashier with the aid of google glasses can perform the work that a twice minimum wage milkshake machine service technician would ordinarily be hired to perform, and that work can be audited remotely.
Furthermore, diagnostics that are ordinarily performed by eye can be performed by machine. Imagine if you will, a minimum wage employee picks up a toolbox, puts on a pair of glasses, and approaches a complex machine. Here is the workflow:
The videogame like heads-up-display on the glasses alerts the employee that the machine requires inspection and displays a picture of a tool. The user then looks into the toolbox, the HUD circles the relevant tool, and displays a green checkmark in the center of the user's field of view when the user holds up the tool and rotates it in front of the camera for inspection. A "Tool Status" report is shown on screen and archived describing the condition of the tool, tied to the RFID tag located in the tool. The HUD then highlights the access ports on the complex machine where the tool is inserted to begin diagnostics or perform work.
If, hypothetically, the tool is a screwdriver, the HUD highlights the screws that need to be turned and follows the screwdriver as it spins (issuing and logging a warning if the screwdriver is rotated too quickly or with too much force).
This process repeats itself as the user proceeds through the workflow. If inspection of a limited life component (such as a brake pad, or lubricated gear) is required, the component can be designed in the factory to include a 'strip' that will be exposed as the component wears, the glasses (rather than the employee eyeball) can calculate the percentage of the wear-marker displayed and immediately determine whether the component needs to be replaced. Color-coding can be inspected by the glasses to ensure that all connections are made correctly. Through the use of 'highlighting' in the heads up display, the user can be instructed to make connections, break connections, rotate objects for inspection, and perform the process in reverse, with constant feedback from the machine. Furthermore, if the machine develops issues out of cycle, the video of the previous maintenance cycle can be reviewed by a central office.
Compare the cost of a pair of google glasses, the initial programming of the UI (API development would be handled in house at the developmer), and the minor changes to production in the factory (harmonizing color codes, etc) to a training budget and salaries for skilled laborers instead of minimum wage laborers. For tasks at home, such as servicing an air conditioner, or lawnmower, product manuals can be sold with the product, allowing any consumer who owns a pair of these magic glasses to perform the maintenance themselves, or if the work is dirty, pay someone a pittance to put the glasses on and do it t.
Using this technology, locksmiths, HVAC technicians, auto mechanics, etc can be replaced by 'users' with no education about the systems they are expected to work on. Furthermore, DRM can be applied to product manuals, so that only authorized maintainers are permitted to use the correct HUD for the system, which allows manufacturers to maintain proprietary maintenance contracts.
For users expected to operate unattended, Glass can remove the need for trust. A maid who is required to put the Glass on, and perform an inspection of the room cleaned (with hands in full view) after finishing cannot steal, and this can be proved to an employer. Furthermore, an employer with control over the Glass on employees can selectively disable the recording function to prevent the release of information compromising to the system owner. If the maid steals, the video can assure a prison sentence. If the employer assaults the maid, no video is available, and in some places, the maid could be liable for defamation.
A computer controlled human eye, operating a computer controlled human hand will revolutionize the service industry. Not because all the cashiers will be wearing them to ring up your order, but because a minimum wage cashier with the aid of google glasses can perform the work that a twice minimum wage milkshake machine service technician would ordinarily be hired to perform, and that work can be audited remotely.
Furthermore, diagnostics that are ordinarily performed by eye can be performed by machine. Imagine if you will, a minimum wage employee picks up a toolbox, puts on a pair of glasses, and approaches a complex machine. Here is the workflow:
The videogame like heads-up-display on the glasses alerts the employee that the machine requires inspection and displays a picture of a tool. The user then looks into the toolbox, the HUD circles the relevant tool, and displays a green checkmark in the center of the user's field of view when the user holds up the tool and rotates it in front of the camera for inspection. A "Tool Status" report is shown on screen and archived describing the condition of the tool, tied to the RFID tag located in the tool. The HUD then highlights the access ports on the complex machine where the tool is inserted to begin diagnostics or perform work.
If, hypothetically, the tool is a screwdriver, the HUD highlights the screws that need to be turned and follows the screwdriver as it spins (issuing and logging a warning if the screwdriver is rotated too quickly or with too much force).
This process repeats itself as the user proceeds through the workflow. If inspection of a limited life component (such as a brake pad, or lubricated gear) is required, the component can be designed in the factory to include a 'strip' that will be exposed as the component wears, the glasses (rather than the employee eyeball) can calculate the percentage of the wear-marker displayed and immediately determine whether the component needs to be replaced. Color-coding can be inspected by the glasses to ensure that all connections are made correctly. Through the use of 'highlighting' in the heads up display, the user can be instructed to make connections, break connections, rotate objects for inspection, and perform the process in reverse, with constant feedback from the machine. Furthermore, if the machine develops issues out of cycle, the video of the previous maintenance cycle can be reviewed by a central office.
Compare the cost of a pair of google glasses, the initial programming of the UI (API development would be handled in house at the developmer), and the minor changes to production in the factory (harmonizing color codes, etc) to a training budget and salaries for skilled laborers instead of minimum wage laborers. For tasks at home, such as servicing an air conditioner, or lawnmower, product manuals can be sold with the product, allowing any consumer who owns a pair of these magic glasses to perform the maintenance themselves, or if the work is dirty, pay someone a pittance to put the glasses on and do it t.
Using this technology, locksmiths, HVAC technicians, auto mechanics, etc can be replaced by 'users' with no education about the systems they are expected to work on. Furthermore, DRM can be applied to product manuals, so that only authorized maintainers are permitted to use the correct HUD for the system, which allows manufacturers to maintain proprietary maintenance contracts.
For users expected to operate unattended, Glass can remove the need for trust. A maid who is required to put the Glass on, and perform an inspection of the room cleaned (with hands in full view) after finishing cannot steal, and this can be proved to an employer. Furthermore, an employer with control over the Glass on employees can selectively disable the recording function to prevent the release of information compromising to the system owner. If the maid steals, the video can assure a prison sentence. If the employer assaults the maid, no video is available, and in some places, the maid could be liable for defamation.