We both spy with our little eyes

As we all know, time is money. And where the smartglasses save time, no money is spent. ‘We are currently using three of these glasses in Oberkotzau and we’re testing them thoroughly’, says Kay Sommermann, Test Centre Department Head, of the unusual design. The goal, he says, is to equip each location in the group with one soon. An integrated camera transfers images, and there is a microphone for the sound. Both can be recorded. And the wearer also receives information thanks to a mini-monitor in the field of vision.

The smartglasses run on the Android operating system, which enables the installation of apps like Webex. Then, the smartglasses can be invited to join a meeting. All the other attendees can then see what the camera shows. The tiny monitor inside the glasses duplicates this image for the wearer. ‘That lets me control what the other people are seeing and adjust the frame if necessary,’ says Kay Sommermann, explaining how it all work. ‘The monitor image doesn’t bother me. It’s very clear when I focus on it but easy to block out when I concentrate on what’s happening in front of the glasses.’

That makes the smartglasses invaluable when, for instance, urgent repairs need to be made at a distant location. Or when there are problems that specialists from around the world can now be called on to help solve. Kay Sommermann offers some examples: ‘A colleague in Poland can use these glasses to look into a control cabinet full of wires and connections, and our expert here guides him through the necessary procedures step by step. Or with complex customer complaints, the customer takes us through the problem with images and sound and gets support for everything that needs to be done in real time. That saves long, expensive trips.’

A bit of advance planning is still required, since these glasses are not yet in use everywhere. It takes two to three days to send the glasses to customers, for example. That is far easier, not to mention cheaper, than sending the specialists themselves. Another requirement: a stable data connection. ‘The glasses film, transfer and record the data in very high resolution,’ Kay Sommermann says. ‘So you need Wi-Fi that works well.’

What are the optical and practical features of the GEALAN smartglasses? ‘We chose a model that doesn’t have lenses, so there’s no danger of breakage. Glasses with lenses are also not ideal in dusty areas. Since we sometimes use them on construction sites, we are better off with models that don’t have lenses.’ Additional benefits of the GEALAN models: The material is very stable, flexible and break-resistant. What’s more, the glasses can easily attach to protective goggles and construction hardhats.