With Markets and Markets claiming the Augmented Reality marketplace to grow from USD 10.7 billion in 2019 to USD 72.7 billion by 2024, it’s safe to assume the technology will play a massive role in our futures.
Much like the smartphone did for the millennial generation, the smart glasses will likely be the next tool humankind uses to connect and share information at an unprecedented scale – and the enterprise marketplace is no exception.
According to other sources, smart glasses will largely replace smartphones and smartwatches by 2030 – but which technologies are driving the the enterprise AR smart glasses marketplace today?
Let’s take a look below to find out.
Google Enterprise for Glass 2
Despite the original Glass’s colossal failure in the consumer market in 2014, Google’s Enterprise for Glass Edition 2 AR headset has achieved considerable success since it launched 12 months ago.
As the name suggests, Google Enterprise for Glass 2 is a business-use-only augmented reality headset currently being used by big multi-nationals like DHL and Boeing to improve the operational performance and efficiency of frontline workers.
Unlike the original model, the Enterprise for Glass was built on the Qualcomm XR1 Platform, giving it considerably more power and flexibility.
The headset also offers several new features, such as an 8MB camera, a 640-pixel x 360-pixel RGB display, 32GB of memory, blink and wink sensors, and a USB-C port with broader functionality all around.
Vuzix M4000
As one of the leading vendors in the augmented reality smart glasses space, we expected nothing short of excellence when reviewing Vuzix’s flagship headset – and we weren’t wrong!
Launched at the start of 2020, the Vuzix M400 features the developers proprietary waveguide optics, as well as a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon XR1 platform. The headset also features a display resolution of 854 x 480 for stunning clarity, with eight cores of power and higher RAM storage.
Although we expect the upcoming release of Vuzix’s new microLED smart glasses in Q2/Q3 2021 will impress us even more, we believe the M4000 is one of the best enterprise smart glasses available today!
Toshiba DynaEdge
The Toshiba DynaEdge AR100 industrial-ready smart glasses are feature-rich and offer several benefits for enterprise-users.
With these headsets, users can stream and record live video, take photos, save and access documents, interact with diagrams and collaborate with co-workers through Skype. The device also offers an entire suite of additional file synchronization and centralized management features for devices.
These enterprise-first AR smart glasses are a valuable asset for any company, presenting a wide range of opportunities to improve remote management, maintenance, manufacturing, inspection, and training.
NReal Light
Anyone familiar with NReal will know they are a world-leading force in the mixed reality marketplace.
Unlike other mixed reality vendors such as Microsoft and Magic Leap, however, NReal’s flagship headset, the NReal Light, delivers powerful mixed reality experiences without all the bulk.
These slim, ergonomic smart glasses sit comfortably on the face and use cutting-edge spatial tracking technology to project images and AR apps onto the world around us.
While less impressive than some of the other enterprise-ready AR smart glasses on this list, we can’t deny the NReal Light offers immense value to anyone looking for a lightweight augmented reality or mixed reality experience.
Epson Moverio BT-300
The Moverio BT-300 is the latest enterprise-grade AR smart glasses from the Japanese tech giant, Epson.
Unlike the previous models, the BT-300 features a more minimalist structure that’s up to 20% lighter than its predecessor. The headset also features a new silicon-based OLED screen, a fantastic Atom X5 processor, and an extended battery life of up to 6 hours, proving this model the best Epson has released to date.
While the BT-300 is by no means the most advanced AR headset on this list, it still delivers a quality AR experience at less than half the price of other models like the HMT-1 and M4000.
RealWear HMT-1
Word on the XR grapevine is that the RealWear HMT-1 AR headset is the best industrial-grade headset available on the marketplace today – and we have to agree!
These smart glasses are water/debris resistant and can survive drops of up to 2 meters without incurring any damage, making them the perfect choice for robust industrial workplaces and factory floors.
Alongside durability, the HMT-1 also offers a wide range of high-grade features such as a 16 MP camera with 4-axis optical image stabilization, 1080p video, and four digital microphones with active noise cancellation proven to block out as much as 95 dBA of typical industrial noise.
For industrial workers, few (if any) augmented reality smart glasses can compare with the RealWear HMT-1, and we don’t expect that to change for a long time to come.
Irstick Z1 Premium
The Iristick Z1 Premium AR smart glasses are a durable mobile-first headset ideal for enhancing productivity and operational performance in challenging, busy industrial workplaces.
Features like the premium barcode scanning function and touchpad voice commands can drastically speed up logistics operations in warehouses and factory floors, saving businesses seemingly endless amounts of time and money.
With full support for both iOS and Android phones, the Z1 allows users to leverage the power of their existing mobile devices, adding greater flexibility for both the user and the business.
Lenovo ThinkReality A6
The Lenovo ThinkReality A6 is an AR headset designed primarily for enterprise environments.
Since it launched back in 2019, businesses worldwide use the A6 to deliver augmented reality experiences remotely to on-site workers or engineers across various industries ranging from telecoms and energy to the AEC and manufacturing.
Alongside an impressive 1080p resolution per eye display, a 40-degree diagonal field of view, and a weight of only 380 grams, the A6 also boasts a 13 MP camera and up to 4 hours of battery life for extended use in remote settings.
Looking forward to 2021
While there are many exciting technologies included in this list, we still feel that the best has yet to come.
This year, both Vuzix and Lenovo announced their plans to release a new line of enterprise-grade smart glasses by Q2 2021. Meanwhile, the world is still waiting with bated breath to see what tech giants Apple and Facebook will bring to the smart-glasses marketplace in the future.
Though it’s still far too early to predict who’ll be leading the marketplace at this time next year, one thing we can be sure of is that these next 12 months are going to be exciting for the augmented reality space – and XR Today will be here reporting on every innovation the moment they arrive.
