Widely considered a failure in its first incarnation, Google Glass has returned to the market after a two-year gap, in a limited run, as an enterprise product being used by the likes of DHL, Boeing, GE and Volkswagen.
The product was launched in 2013 but was shelved in 2015, after the product failed to capture the imagination of consumers or developers.
Alphabet's X, which oversees the development of Glass, has relaunched the device with the Glass Enterprise Edition. Among improvements are an extension of battery life, faster WiFi and processor and an upgrade of the camera (from 5 megapixels to 8).
U.S. agricultural equipment manufacturer AGCO, is one of the companies using the Glass Enterprise Edition. By doing so it says it has reduced machinery production time by 25%. Employees can access checklists, instruction manuals and make reports using Glass.
"Employees are now working smarter, faster and safer because they have the information they need right in their line of sight," says Peggy Gulick, AGCO's director of business process improvement.
DHL has also been using Glass to speed up its supply chain processes. Glass can deliver location information to a picker in the warehouse, recommend the best pick path. DHL say Glass has increased its supply chain efficiency by 15%.
