Google Glass didn’t meet the level of commercial success that the parent company was hoping for, but the company officials have (on several occasions) stressed that Glass is not dead. The division is now headed by Nest CEO Tony Fadell, who is working to stage a turnaround for Glass and win over the consumers. Sources close to the project point out that though the enterprise-wide deployment of the technology is still in its early stages, the smart glasses offer tremendous potential for workers of manufacturing and field services as oil and gas, healthcare, logistics, transportation and nuclear, being a few of them. In fact, according to a 2012 report published by Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, around 46 million Americans work in industries where wearable technologies like Google Glass are applicable and if implemented, can bring in a notable change. Having said that, if other variables remain unchanged, the same number has the potential of reaching up to 52 million by 2022. Such elevating analysis has urged companies to invest more in the technology and in turn explains Google’s willingness to keep working on Google Glass.
In fact, many third-party software developers have shown their interest in the technology and have crafted an ecosystem primarily designed for smart glasses. Companies like Augmedix, Wearable Intelligence, Pristine, APX Labs and Augmate are already working on building enterprise solutions for smart glasses such as Google’s Glass. The people part of this industry believe that within a year, the wearable tech industry could easily be worth a $10 billion business.
A new deal between Boeing and APX Labs has brought about a significant change in Boeing’s factories, as smart glasses have replaced the printed instruction manuals for the company’s engineers, which seamlessly display instructions and have a built-in viewfinder to help them in their work. Despite the opportunity that the smart glasses offer, the developers find it tough to push the product for an extensive enterprise usage. The growing concern over privacy naturally bleeds into it all and complicates matters, admits every industry giant working on such technology. Hence, the advancement of the wearable tech will have to be balanced by new compliance measures.