Google’s AR wearable ‘Glass‘ may be all but defunct for general consumers but thanks to A.I. and IoT software provider Plataine, the enterprise edition of the hardware could get some completely new features. Plataine is focusing its efforts on augmenting factory workers, according to a recent announcement and app demo made at Google’s Cloud Next 2018 conference in San Francisco. The goal is to help workers on the factory floor become more productive and efficient. That all centers around the organization’s A.I.-based Digital Assistant which provides documentation for real-time productivity tracking, important alerts, and recommendations completely hands-free. Using its solutions, quality control should be vastly improved, Plataine says. Meanwhile, a general A.I. is not the only technology underpinning the latest new development either. Instead, the platform’s incorporation of Google Cloud incorporates machine learning and manufacturing expertise that’s been brought to the table by Plataine, according to Google. That will allow a typical production facility to effectively be transformed into a “smart” factory.
That’s based on two primary capabilities of the newly enhanced digital assistant on offer by Plataine. First, the AR-based Google Glass platform and new software allow workers to receive alerts and other recommendations when they need it. It will also report on progress automatically. Machine learning allows the onboard A.I. to recognize when and what suggestions to make or which alerts to display. Actionable insight is provided to the appropriate workers in order to ensure that everything on the factory floor is running smoothly. In short, it provides a worker with the knowledge needed to solve any issues quickly. It also automates the process of reporting on production-related data and can be taught to identify problems earlier. That could drastically cut back on the amount of product and time lost to quality issues before they even arise.
In its demo at the Next conference, Plataine demonstrated that by highlighting a scenario in which a worker arrives to work and the system alerts that employee that a problem is present in the factory. That worker is able to ask for assistance in selecting materials via Google Cloud’s Dialogflow and the system obliges, in addition to directing the individual to the location of those. Meanwhile, those employees who are providing oversight of the factory floor have instant access to the video feed from the repair work and to other workers for real-time tracking of the floor’s productivity. The company hasn’t provided any information with regard to when the software may be made available or at what cost. Bearing that in mind, it’s not difficult to see how a system like Plataine’s could save both time and money when it does hit the market.