Can smart glasses be the key to unlocking productivity in the workplace?

Technology is the foremost resource for shaping the world—and in the modern workplace, it’s crucial for keeping brands competitive in an increasingly fast-paced business environment. Our article “Why new technologies still make employees happier, healthier, and more efficient” explains that technology must meet increasingly agile strategies like remote work. In these cases, it can help optimise manpower and productivity. As a result, 70 percent of firms believe new technologies improve business resilience. One of the emerging tools showing immense promise for improving productivity is smart glasses.

Its capabilities for hands-free communication and data visualisation provide significant opportunities to reinvent how work across industries is done, meaning it may be the key to unlocking improved workplace productivity. Here are a few ways it can do so:

Effective on-the-job training

Although critical for a company to flourish, onboarding and training can be costly and laborious. Smart glasses can optimise this process. With augmented reality (AR) features, trainees can receive hands-free access to step-by-step instructions, diagrams, and videos. The Vuzix AR smart glasses are great for this, as they offer a more intuitive method of instruction with visual aids overlaid on the equipment trainees need to assemble or operate.

These features are crucial for industries like engineering and manufacturing, especially as a lack of skilled workers strains 85 percent of UK businesses. Training in manufacturing traditionally relies on manual processes, which can lead to costly operational errors. However, the Vuzix AR glasses can streamline the process by documenting and detecting issues in real time. Experienced staff can also use the glasses to create training material so new hires can revise independently. By helping employees more quickly and effectively adapt to the workplace, smart glasses can make on-the-job training more productive.

24/7 employee support

Smart glasses are beneficial for providing 24/7 employee support, particularly for fast-paced professions. Many models offer camera capabilities that allow for the recording of images and live streams. The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses are the latest wearable tech to enable this, helping employees stay connected wherever they go. They can take photos and videos, make calls, and livestream hands-free through simple voice commands, including “Hey Meta,” facilitating communications in work environments that require time-sensitive responses.

In hospitals, for instance, first respondents can receive crucial directions from physicians or surgeons from within the hospital while keeping their hands free to attend to the patient. This can also be great for businesses that provide home services like IT support for devices and networks. Technicians can receive real-time instructions for troubleshooting no matter where their supervisors are.

Optimised planning and design

With AR features using multiple sensors, advanced optics, and holographic processing, images can be integrated seamlessly into a user’s environment. This can help companies simulate real-life models and scenarios to optimise the planning and design stages for different products. The DigiLens ARGO holographic smart glasses can help with its capacity to merge the physical world with real-time 3D content while expanding collaborative tools. Aside from its 48-megapixel display, the ARGO also offers crisp communication capabilities that can help users collaborate remotely and see the same 3D images as though they’re physically working together.

This makes the ARGO great for medical purposes since users can see details like the blood vessels, bones, and internal organs in fantastic detail. Surgical teams can strategically simulate and plan operations and medical treatments before executing them. Meanwhile, engineers can work collaboratively to review designs and data with colleagues, no matter their location, allowing them to quickly identify issues and improve designs with a full-scale simulation of the finished product, reducing potential errors before creating the prototype. Capabilities like these can minimise trial and error phases in such industries and significantly make planning and design in collaborative environments more productive.

Technology can take workplaces to new heights with advanced capabilities. With increasingly innovative features, we can unlock unlimited possibilities for productivity and efficiency.