« Abuse Resistant Belts work where others fail.
« Super Strong Joints are virtually unbreakable.
« High Tension Belts move heavier loads.
« HEHT red/black belts double capacity.
« Low cost, highly efficient, elastic
flat belts up to 34. 5” wide.
Dura-Belt 800-770-2358 614-777-0295 Fax: 614-777-9448
www.durabelt.com
Better than
Lifetime
Warranty
Longer Lasting Belts & Pulleys
Split Line-shaft Spools
l High precision. Reasonable price.
l Easy to install. Zero downtime.
We use 100% virgin
urethane (no regrind
waste). Makes stronger,
longer lasting belts.
Longer lasting Belts, HEHT Split Spools -- no regrind:Layout 1 1/3/2017 9: 50 PM Page 1
; Training workers. That same “
telemoni-toring” ability could allow managers to view
exactly what each employee is seeing at any
given time. The ability to share a view could
enable managers to act like a coach perched
on the user’s shoulder, although workers
might have privacy concerns.
; Remote maintenance. If a high-speed
shoe sorter breaks down, a maintenance
worker could launch a video conference
with a remote expert, who could see the
problem in real time, then use AR annotation to type instructions that appear in the
worker’s field of view and help him or her
identify the broken part.
; Inventory putaway. In putaway applications, smartglass technology could be
used to provide a forklift driver with a view
of the warehouse with driving directions
overlaid on the actual aisles and racks in
front of him or her.
; Receiving goods. In cases where an item
arrives with its bar code missing or in
unreadable condition, a warehouse worker could take a picture of it and then use
image recognition software to identify the
item.
; Put-wall operations. A worker at a sorting station could scan an item, then look
at a wall of bins and see an overlay of
geolocated data that identifies the number
and location of items to be placed in a
container. The glasses could even track the
worker’s hand as he or she drops the item
in the bin and confirm that the task has
been completed.
While these applications are already
technically possible, engineers remain hard
at work refining both smartglass hardware and software. In addition to the need
to extend battery life mentioned earlier,
improvements are still needed to address
heat buildup in processor chips, integrate
smartglass platforms with warehouse management systems and other software, offer
translucent data overlays instead of displays that can occlude a wearer’s field of
vision, and improve the size and style of
smartglasses to make them more appealing
to users.
Keep an eye on this space as hardware
vendors, software coders, systems integrators, and warehouse managers collaborate
to find new logistics-related applications
for powerful smartglass technology.
coming into focus.
“Three years ago, the first generation of Google Glass and Vuzix
smartglasses came out, [but] they
were mainly intended to help people
figure out where the technology was
and how to fit it into their current
processes,” said Lance Anderson,
vice president of enterprise sales at
Vuzix.
Because of ergonomic considerations like weight, battery life, and
overheating, those early models
were never intended to be worn
for a full eight-hour warehouse
shift. Now, a second generation of
smartglass products has made great
strides in addressing those problems, thereby opening the technology up to a wider range of applications. “You’re going to see a bunch
of smartglasses popping up in the
market,” Anderson said.
Among other improvements, sec-
ond-generation smartglasses now
come with features like a micro-
phone and audio link, an embedded
digital camera, geolocating capabil-
ity, and the ability to display real-
time text messages in a user’s AR
view. Companies can leverage those
features to expand the devices’ use
far beyond basic picking applica-
tions, where the glasses simply dis-
play the location and number of
items needed, Anderson said.
As for what these applications
might be, Anderson said ware-house-related uses for second-gen-eration smartglasses could include:
; Managing exceptions. If a warehouse picker is directed to a rack
location but finds it empty, he or
she can now share his screen with a
back-office supervisor. That supervisor can then link to the smartglass
video display, see exactly what the
employee is looking at, and change
the pick order accordingly, without
ever having to leave his or her office.
S
tra
te
g
y
MO
B
I
LE
T
E
CH
Please see us in booth S339 at ProMat 2017
