Editorial
Training The Next Generation of Frontline Workers
Who exactly is the next generation of the workforce?
3 min read
XR: What You’re Looking For is Already in Your Hands
Written by Special Guest Blogger Scott Burkey, XR Product Manager, WestRock Think for a minute about your favorite pastime. Maybe it’s running or dirt biking or golf or tennis. Whatever it is, you most likely use some sort of club, racquet, or other piece of specialized equipment. Now, think about how “good” you are at this pastime or, in my case, how “bad” you may be. I’m a runner but I’m slower than all my running buddies. In my head, I’m clearing 15-foot jumps on my dirt bike (with cameras flashing everywhere) when, in reality, I’m only getting about two feet off the jump. I don’t play golf myself but unless you consistently shoot par, there’s room for improvement. It doesn’t have to be a sport either. Maybe your hobby is painting, but you’re no Picasso, or you play guitar but no where near a Hendrix or Clapton… I’m not trying to tell you that you stink at golf or painting but instead point out something that most amateur athletes and hobbyists have in common. I’m sure you’ve caught yourself thinking, “If only I had better golf clubs, I’d be a better golfer” or “If I had top-of-the-line running shoes, I […]
3 min read
The Benefits of Early AR/VR Adoption: Interview with Flex’s Zohair Mehkri
I recently had the opportunity to interview Zohair Mehkri, Director of Engineering at Flex, about driving and executing worldwide strategies for augmented reality, virtual reality and other next-generation technologies in manufacturing. Don’t miss Zohair speaking at this year’s EWTS taking place online in October! Emily: To begin, could you provide us with a little background on yourself and your career? What does your job entail and what was your first encounter with AR/VR? Zohair: I am currently a Director of Engineering at Flex, and my current scope of responsibilities includes managing an organization that works on AR/VR, Simulation, Application Development, and AI/ML as well as working with functions across the company on our Digital Twin strategy. My first encounter with AR/VR was many years back at our annual Leadership Summit when our BOD presented AR/VR to us as one of our focus areas of technology. Shortly thereafter, our CEO and COO put together a ‘tiger team’ to focus on this technology, of which I was named the lead. Emily: When did it become apparent to you that AR/VR could benefit Flex’s operations and/or customers? Zohair: Flex has always been a pioneer in technology and especially in recognizing which technologies should be focused on and implemented. AR/VR is […]
5 min read
From the frontlines of pandemic-fueled AR adoption: Interview with Aggreko’s Walter Davis
I recently had the opportunity to interview Walter Davis, Global Learning Technologies Manager at Aggreko, about expanding the use of augmented reality in response to the global coronavirus pandemic. Get first-hand insight into enterprise adoption challenges, including change management, and find out how augmented reality became a safety certification standard at Aggreko below! Don’t miss Walter speaking at EWTS 2021 this October online! Emily: To begin, could you provide us with a little background on yourself and your career? What does your job entail and what was your first encounter with AR/VR? Walter: Well, I’m a U.S. Army veteran (not sure how far back you want me to go). I studied engineering IT and have a degree in IT Project Management. I really started working in the IT sector on larger projects overseas, so while I was in Germany I worked on projects around ULD tracking technology and systems at Lufthansa. I got into the learning space when I moved over to Raytheon (also in Germany). While there, I worked with a number of large brands, including NATO, the Australian Navy, Harley Davidson, GM and most everyone in the automotive sector at some point in time. I think my first encounter with […]
11 min read
The 2020 Enterprise XR Year in Review
In 2020, the workforce went remote to an extent never before seen. This was, of course, due to the global coronavirus pandemic, which forced companies to adapt to working from home starting around March. Many expanded their use of immersive technologies or began using XR for the first time to enable remote business operations, from business meetings to design collaboration and training. 2020 will go down as the year augmented reality remote support went mainstream and people began seriously discussing the virtual workplace of the future. Top Use Cases Countless companies adopted augmented and virtual reality this year for remote support, remote collaboration, remote design, remote training and remote sales. Wearables also found their stride as a tool for contact tracing and enforcement of social distancing in the workplace. Here are some of the most newsworthy use cases: RealWear’s HMT-1 and HoloLens 2 were popular devices this year: In January, French car manufacturer Groupe PSA rolled out the HMT-1 for vehicle assembly technicians, followed by Italy’s largest gas distributor, which opted for the HMT-1Z1 with OverIT’s field service software in February. Undoubtedly both companies benefitted from this timely AR adoption when the pandemic hit, as did Shell and Total S.A., […]
8 min read
Is Digital Transformation for Men? Female Factors in Wearable Tech
In 2015, NASA celebrated over 50 years of spacewalking. Three years later, in March 2018, the agency called off the first all-female spacewalk due to a shortage of smaller-sized spacesuits. The walk-back sparked a Twitter storm of women sharing stories of their own ill-fitting work uniforms and oversized ‘standard’ gear. “But,” as one woman tweeted, “it’s not just spacesuits. It’s public spaces like bathrooms, cars, cockpits, office air conditioning, microwave installation heights, Oculus, military fatigues…an endless list.” Back in December, personal experience set me on a trail of research that ultimately revealed the phenomenon of patriarchal coding. Here’s what I learned: 1) I’m not alone in thinking today’s VR headsets weren’t designed for women. 2) The majority of products and systems we use every day are actually designed by and for men. 3) Patriarchal coding affects almost every aspect of women’s lives. 4) It’s unintentional for the most part. Sexism is so ingrained in our society that women’s unique needs and biology (like the fact that we have breasts) are excluded from reality, even of the virtual kind. Emerging technologies are no exception: Wearable devices such as body-worn sensors, exoskeletons, and VR headsets – which experts hail as the future […]
8 min read
The Top 7 Reasons to Attend the 7th EWTS: EWTS Everywhere 2020
With so many digital events this year, it can be difficult to pick a virtual conference experience worthy of your time, so let us help you make that decision easier. Here are seven reasons to attend EWTS Everywhere this October 20-23 online: ONE The platform: When COVID-19 began impacting in-person events, we researched and evaluated over 100 digital event platforms. What we found were a number of common pain points, leading us to build our own proprietary platform. Perhaps the biggest issue we identified with all those platforms is that they’re built by technology engineers with little to no experience organizing high-quality B2B events. It takes an experienced conference organizer to translate an event like EWTS into a digital experience that preserves what makes the in-person show so valuable while adding features only possible in an online format; and that’s exactly what we’ve done. Moreover, all features and tools of the EWTS platform live under one roof (no external modules to launch). TWO Agenda and takeaways: To distinguish EWTS Everywhere (what we’re calling this year’s EWTS) from just another multi-day digital event, we altered the agenda to suit the online format, with attendees tuning in from home and all the […]
4 min read
Transitioning from Remote to Socially Distant at Work: Interview with ProGlove’s Tracy Hanson
We recently had the opportunity to interview Tracy Hansen, President of North America and Global CMO at ProGlove, about the role of wearables in the coronavirus pandemic, particularly in the transition back to work following the quarantine. Learn about ProGlove’s new app and check out the company’s products and solutions at EWTS Everywhere this October. Q: To begin, could you provide a little background on yourself and your career? How did you end up at ProGlove? A: Sure thing. My name is Tracy Hansen; I’m the President of ProGlove. It was a pretty straightforward path to here when I look back and connect all the dots. I wrote my graduate school thesis on ISO 9000, which was the blending of business, process and international work. From there, I secured a job at NetApp, a storage company based out of Silicon Valley. I worked there for close to fifteen years. While I was at NetApp, I met a gentleman named Andreas Koenig, so just remember that name. I spent quite a bit of time at NetApp growing the startup into a $6B multinational business. We went from fewer to 200 people to more than 14,000 during my tenure, and I rose […]
8 min read
Qualcomm, HP, Varjo & More: All the Enterprise News Out of AWE Online 2020
The first AWE Online wrapped up last week and a number of sponsor and exhibiting companies used the digital event to make major announcements. Here are all the enterprise-related news and releases from the show: Qualcomm Qualcomm partnered with 15 global operators to make XR a part of their 5G offerings within the next year. XR viewers – glasses tethered to a 5G-enabled smartphone via USB-C cable – will unlock a new generation of immersive experiences over 5G. For example, “Workplace meetings can be revolutionized through holographic telepresence with virtual collaboration platforms.” The company also announced a new 5G-enabled VR headset, the MOVA by XRSPACE. Unity Unity announced that their Mixed and Augmented Reality Studio (MARS) tools will be available starting today, June 1. Under construction for a few years now, these tools will make cross-platform development of robust AR projects easier. Cognitive3D Cognitive3D launched Objectives System, a new feature to help enterprises directly measure results and thereby get actionable insights from VR. With a few clicks, managers can “define steps required for users to be successful in the experience” (think VR training). OVR OVR Technology released its Architecture of Scent platform for VR. Combining hardware, software and scentware, the […]
2 min read
Bridging the Gap Between OT & IT, Being a Woman Founder and More: Interview with CBT’s Kelly Ireland
Kelly Ireland, Founder & CEO of CBT spoke to us about bridging the gap between OT & IT, being a woman founder and more.
14 min read
The Emergence of the Technology Evangelist
There’s a new job role opening up in every industry, that of the emerging technology evangelist.
8 min read
True Life: I’m the VR Person at my Company
Westrock's Scott Burkey shares his first-hand experience and advice for bringing AR/VR into your company
6 min read
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