BY BEN AMES, SENIOR EDITOR
MOBILE TECH
Strategy
ALWAYS ON THE LOOKOUT FOR WAYS TO IMPROVE
efficiency in their logistics operations, companies are
increasingly experimenting with smartglasses in the warehouse. Powered by their own processor and battery, these
wearable high-tech eyeglasses collect data from a building’s
wireless network, then project text and numbers onto a
tiny screen incorporated into the glasses. From a user’s
perspective, the display looks like full-sized text, overlaid
on top of whatever “real world” scene the wearer is viewing
at the time. The idea is to give workers hands-free access
to computer-generated info, eliminating the need to carry
handheld scanners or written documents—like pick lists,
manuals, or printed instructions—with them, thereby
boosting productivity.
Applied to logistics, smartglass technology can enable
“vision picking” by projecting visual cues and directions for
order fulfillment tasks into a wearer’s field of view. But the
technology holds the potential to do much more than that.
Advocates say it can support various warehouse applications from training programs to forklift navigation, helping
build a case for adding smartglasses to the supply chain.
Among the early adopters is DHL Supply Chain, the sup-
ply chain services division of the giant international parcel
carrier and logistics specialist. After the success of an initial
smartglass trial in 2014, the company announced in August
2016 that it was rolling out a second phase of the project.
Phase two will include pilot programs in facilities in the
U.S., the Netherlands, and the U.K.
By providing its warehouse workers with an augmented
reality (AR) view—a live view of the physical environment
supplemented by computer-generated input—of their sur-
roundings, the company can give individual workers visual
instructions on where each picked item needs to be placed
on a trolley, DHL says. This vision picking approach
enables hands-free order picking that is faster and more
accurate than other methods, and also generates a digital
record of the traditionally manual process of moving items
around the shop floor, according to the German company.
Despite its early success, DHL’s vision picking pilot offers
just a glimpse of the impact smartglasses may have as the
technology matures, experts say. Smartglasses are still a
nascent technology, and many adopters still need to exper-
iment with different products and applications before they
can make it pay off for wider use in the warehouse.
With several successful pilots in the books, DCs are starting to show
real interest in the technology, vendors say. But is it ready for prime time?
Smartglasses get a second
look from warehouses
