Field Forward Episode #2: Exploring Smart Glasses in Manufacturing: A World of Possibilities

Welcome to Episode 2 of Field Forward!

🎙️ Host: Cihat Kahraman, CEO and Co-Founder of VSight
🎙️ Guest: Marc-Antoine Godfroid, Business Development Manager for Epson Europe

This episode explores the exciting world of industrial smart glasses and their transformative impact on augmented reality (AR) in various industries.

What’s Covered in Episode 2

✅ The Industrial Smart Glasses Market:
Insights into the growth and potential of smart glasses in sectors like manufacturing, logistics, and construction.

✅ Augmented Reality vs. Assisted Reality:
Understand the differences and the importance of transparent binocular displays for safety and efficiency.

✅ Epson Moverio Smart Glasses in Action:

• 🌍 Remote Assistance: Reduce travel costs and downtime by guiding technicians remotely.
• 🛠️ Digital Workflows: Provide step-by-step instructions to address skill shortages for less experienced workers.
• 📚 Training and Maintenance: Capture and reuse AR-guided sessions to enhance training programs.

✅ Epson’s Internal Use of AR:
Learn how Epson leverages its own smart glasses for manufacturing and support to boost innovation and efficiency.

✅ ROI and Adoption Challenges:
Explore how organizations calculate ROI from smart glasses by reducing errors, downtime, and travel costs, while overcoming challenges in adoption.

Why Listen?

💡 This episode is perfect for:

• Field Operation Professionals: Learn how AR can transform day-to-day workflows.
• Manufacturing Leaders: Discover tools to address skill shortages and improve productivity.
• Technology Enthusiasts: Explore the future of smart glasses in industrial applications.

Get Involved!

📣 Share your thoughts or questions! Submit them via the link below to be featured in future episodes.

📌 Submit Questions Here:
➡️ https://www.speakpipe.com/vsight

Follow Us

🔗 #AugmentedReality #SmartGlasses #IndustrialInnovation #DigitalWorkflows #RemoteAssistance #FieldForwardPodcast #AR #DigitalTransformation #Moverio

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🌐 VSight Website: https://vsight.io/
🌐 VSight Remote: https://vsight.io/vsight-remote/
🌐 VSight Workflow: https://vsight.io/vsight-workflow/
🌐 VSight VideoFlow: https://vsight.io/vsight-videoflow/

Transcript

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[Music] welcome to field forward the ultimate A to Z podcast for field  operation Professionals in this podcast we will explore the latest trends strategies  and top tips for optimizing productivity and efficiency in industrial organizations  I'm your host Cihat Kahraman the CEO and co-founder of VSight [Music]  today for this episode we are truly excited to have our guest from Epson one of uh one of  the leading smart glasses producer we will be discussing the world of smart classes  the implications on Industrial organizations uh and also the challenges uh and much more  joining us uh Mark Antoine got for it manager of uh Emma from Epson welcome American throne  hello hello everyone really happy too to join you today very happy to have you here uh Mark Antoine  can you tell us about yourself and how did you get into Epson uh what was your journey about please  sure so I joined Epson Europe in September 2012 as a product manager for the first generation of the  moverio augmented realities my glasses and so I joined because I've been very interested in the in  the technology that Epson created and especially that early when we think about it it was quite a  long time ago already may I ask was that bt-100 uh the one that was very bulky still we have one in  the office uh that like we also started all the process of recite with that uh with that model  by the way it has a special uh kind of place in our heart great yeah yeah it was a it was  a great great Innovative product of course a bit limited as a first generation device but having  these Concepts available at that time and in in this form was quite uh breakthrough let's say and  so we've been really a pioneer of augmented realities manglasses and the concept of the  bt100 remained the same it has just been of course much improved in the next years and so that's what  I've been working on with Epson Europe basically working with our headquarters in Japan to set the  strategy for the European market and feedback the comments from our customers and partners about the  devices and so we can update the products over the years and refine the use case we want to address  and so yeah now I'm in charge of the new market development team that is managing all the aspects  of the movie I use my glasses in Miami cool cool welcome again welcome again um even right now on  the meetings Etc when we mention about Epson everyone is like isn't Epson a printer company  or scanner company so it is very very interesting for them to hear that like actually Epson also  produces the smart glasses so uh I think this is very remarkable coming from uh not only that  but the projectors and I think that expertise is quite uh quite something for also delivering the  functionality in the smart classes right exactly yeah yeah this is uh really the link between Epson  and the yes manglasses is that Epson have been the number one Global projectile manufacturers more  for more than 20 years now and it's this expertise in this technology that really enabled us to  be a Pioneer on the on the smart glasses Market because when you think about it our more various  my glasses have a kind of new projector but we are going to put on the face instead of a wall or a  ceiling like you would Mount standard projectors amazing amazing no really that is something  um but I mean it means that there is a market for smart glasses um so Mark do you have any any  kind of figures uh to illustrate some some some potential about the market about industrial smart  glasses market like for example what is the growth rate like the projected Market size for next five  years Etc do you have anything about that we do we do uh so of course there is a very important  potential for augmented reality and smart glass CSV player an important role for that uh we are  addressing different use case different markets so there are many things let's say to consider  but if we look at the industrial sector which is still the main Market opportunity for fossman  glasses today uh and the main adapter of the technology we can find some very interesting  data so we have been working with IDC uh large research company uh last summer uh so to to to  check for some data about the market opportunity and so yeah in May 2022 we are working with IDC  to Value the the market potential of the use case we want to address with our industrial offering  and and we found out some very interesting that I know our discussion IDC were projected  that by 2024 the B2B augmented reality Market in Europe will reach almost 3 billion US dollars in  value so that's the overhaul B2B augmented reality market and and what is really interesting is that  out of those three billion almost one third so around 1 billion will come from the industrial  sector so with the manufacturing resource industry and and the Construction Industries  so really pure industrial sector that have been really one of the biggest and in investors in  the technology that continue to be with around 1 billion to be invested in 2024. uh we it's really  on the growth uh phase because there has been uh around 30 percent increase following the covet  crisis which has been an important leverage for increasing the usage of EOS my glasses especially  during the lockdowns um and so based on the use case we address but we'll discuss a bit later so  there's been like a lot of interest from the companies to integrate that  and and what is really interesting as well is that out of those data uh IDC were also valuing the  uh uh maintenance and training use case to be really one of the primary use case for adoption of  AR of b2bar with around 20 percent of the overall investment to come for for those use cases so so  really we can see a a very important trend for the adoption of AIA smart glasses and especially  we are well positioned with our industrial offering to address that uh that interest and  hope to continue to help push the market forward as well with our unit technology amazing amazing  but still like for example right now when we go to the market when we talk with the prospects  Etc still there is that kind of um the the the the mixed feelings about the concepts of smart glasses  about AR glasses Etc so like can you can you tell from your perspective uh what is the difference  here and where does Epson movario what glass is thin so what does it mean for you okay so so yeah  now different terms so of course it can create a little bit some confusion so so when we look at  the extended reality Market landscape which is the term that's going to envelope AR and VR technology  augmented reality virtual reality uh so we can see different sub terms so the big let's say terms to  understand it's AR versus VR of course and on our side exception we are really going to focus on the  augmented reality parts so our products of what we call binocularity through this place it means they  are not blocking the view they enable you to add a layer of information on on what you think and so  now we can see more and more terms like assisted reality mixed reality so it's different level of  Technology uh I think the basic definition of of AR from the dictionary is to or overlay computer  generated image on a view of the real world for the user so that's what we are really focusing on  I think we see a new type of devices on the mixed reality term so that's going to be more like the  virtual reality headsets headsets that use cameras to reproduce the real world and augment it in  some way but that would be for very different applications especially for the use case we  address the tips and the transparent display will remain key especially on the industrial sector  because you need to be able to see with your own eyes uh the surrounding for safety reason and  for so so in this case the augmented reality devices will remain really really important this kind of powerful technology that really enables augmented reality so as opposed to  simpler products uh by school that are more like the monocular products but  are more like a small display somewhere in the field of view in the surrounding vision  which can be good for some project but of course what you can display and how you  can use this information will be a bit more limited but having a full-fledged augmented  reality display and so that's what we have been focusing on the since the beginning and what we  are really trying to continue to to push and to improve to achieve the potential that the  market does about uh the expectation but the market does about here amazing  um like I mean um from the market I mean we are watching all kind of smart classes all kind of  use cases usually uh the use cases that are very interesting for me uh are coming from absent I  must say like very very different types and lately we were also discussing with you you mentioned the  term of experience so I think that's that's playing a big role on the especially movario  smart classes with the uh with the quality of the image that is projected so I think that is  that's playing a big big role but talking about the use case cases and different applications  um what are like some uh real world examples where Epson smart glasses more various smart  classes are are being used in Industries uh how how the market is kinda like emerging towards you  so so we have two main applications for the industrial use case so it's going to be about  remote assistance so providing assistance to on-site technicians remotely and guiding  them using the camera of the device and the AR display to give him visual indication as well to  the user like circles around the part the button it needs to push for instance so that's still the  number one use case we see for our Mobile use my glasses and there is really a growing interest to  implement no what we call digital workflows which is something that has been there for some time  already but uh but we see a growing interest in these fields especially for improving the  training processes so that's going to be a great use case to to overcome some of the challenges of  the but the companies actually let's say removing travel is really one the big problematic what is  being solved with uh remote assistance and that's why it has been let's say increasing a lot after  the during the covet crisis and workflow guidance it's going to be about solving uh  um what is called the skill shortage for instance a problematic for companies  that for instance it's it's very complicated for industrial companies today to recruit uh  skills experience technicians because Market is uh really in high demand for those profile and  and so as manglasses and dg2 workflow Solutions can be used to address that that problematic for  instance by enabling uh younger technicians to access very efficient training in the glasses  so that they can do their job as they go by being provided with a step-by-step instructions as well  doing something but where we learn on the on the on the task let's say  um I think uh like here we are also kind of seeing uh how the applications are uh  are kind of emerging I mean I see even from the beginning of the remote assistance what could  happen and like how the industry also shaped it with different features uh with recording  of it and kind of valuing that recordings for example like later on to be able to use it for  educational purposes so I think uh those are not only kinda like the the uh the the value add uh  and and and and the main return of investment is not coming from that application itself  but also later on uh from from the uh outputs of those applications so and obviously smart  glasses augmented reality and assisted reality is basically kind of enabling those uh I would say in  the market yeah it's true because for instance so yeah just to enable to capture the the processes  the content in a point of view absolutely let's say very efficient to to reproduce  behind its uh it's a part of the great things that uh what we're seeing here amazing amazing  um I want to ask you uh like I mean this is your product but does Epson use the smart glasses uh in  their own uh manufacturing process uh is it also applicable I would say probably yes right I mean  we do of course yeah yeah it's a of course it's a really important thing to  use a technology yourself that you're going to promote because first it's a very important for  our product development process so we have the chance to be being manufacturing company  so we perfectly understand the problematics of our manufacturing customers and so we can  test the product on our own environment let's say to refine the features and the usability  ETC and of course we are really convinced of the potential of this technology so it's no more  to be using it and yeah of course where we are using the technology a lot today it's our in our for instance so for instance with our up to Epson makes a lot of products and we make for instance  industrial printers so we have consumer printers but we also have very big industrial printers used  to produce labels or to print on textiles so lots of great technology I have saw them like  like they are huge they are huge I was I was amazed by the uh by the size of the machine  so I was like oh my God so yeah and it's yeah it's it's really really interesting product and  so of course complex technology complex products and here for instance the movie I use my glasses  are being used by our technical support team either to for instance support remotely the  the field technicians of epson or directly to customers when for instance especially  for instance we have a great uh case study that we published recently of all our customers of the the  printer for the textile industry using the sunglasses with our technical support  because it's a new kind of technology and so there is some training to be done so the idea is that  a new customer that is not really used necessarily to use the technology it can easily connect with  our technical support team when he has a question to be helped remotely so it can solve the issue  or the problem is having very very fast for a Manufacturing Company like Epson having facilities  all around the world I would say like this is like no-brainer to not to use such a technology in the  manufacturing so yeah I would say definitely uh I mean like also in the movario you're you're kind  of creating an ecosystem uh all around like the hardware the software the Partnerships Etc um from  where like until where you go as Epson and where do you kind of leave some room to the partners  to value-added resellers Etc like how does that ecosystem works I'm very curious actually I mean  you have also resellers you have Distributors Etc so can you mention a bit like uh how you combine  it with the software how how do you do that sure so this ecosystem approach is extremely important  for us it's really at the art of our strategy and our Market approach uh basically at Epson  we are really going to focus on the development of the hardware of the smart glasses so this is our  core expertise our core technology and and we are really working on a partnership basis with  our software Partners which are really a key part of our Market approach because it's of course the  combination of the hardware and the software that's going to bring added value for our end  customers and and so we are really um thriving to striving to to create an important ecosystem of  Partners like this site and we are really evaluing the the work that we do together we  are really trying to understand their needs and reflect that in the product development as well  so making sure that we provide them with the specifications and the features that they need  to create the most amazing software solutions to in the end bring value to our customers and  and in this process there is another type of partner that is really important for us  and it's our resellers because the adoption of the technology will also come from a great product but  also from a great support and that means having partners who are able to help the end customers to  make the purchase decision so help them evaluate the technology and how we can benefit them and  go through all the steps so the end customers can make the right choice and implement the technology  and then accompany them in this process so beware as well during the deployment stage to make sure  that everything is going well but the users are getting the training they need to be able to adopt  the technology and that after a while if there is an issue there is also someone to help even  though we are very proud to make very qualitative products we are very few issues let's say after  sales issues but if it happens of course when our partners are there to help the customer and make  sure that uh whatever happens is solved rapidly and efficiently so the customers can continue  using the solution very nice so it's it's really about having different partners with different  expertise to focus on what they do best and come hold together to leave the room to each  other kinda like so that like everyone plays their best role uh in the process that makes sense make  sense and every culture is also different right like having the local partners that is playing  the big role in the local market would would make would make the big change I would say yeah and um again because we have a really Global Market presence so we are proud as well to be able to  help our partners locally in our customers locally as well for our local amazing amazing um but like  overall in that process we are also seeing that like there are a lot of challenges happening with  on the sales process on the adoption of the new technologies especially for the companies that  are working the same way for let's say 20 years you know it's very hard to adapt a new technology  um how do you cope with those how do you how do you handle those and what are the  most like let's say two challenging Parts uh that is that is happening a lot in the in the process um so of course it's it's uh something that uh we are really trying to address with the product so  uh so we've been in the market for for many years so we've been able to deploy many projects so so  we have worked with many customers and and our partners to deploy the technology in large scale  and uh and so yeah we are well aware of let's say some of the uh or can I say questions for the  customers can ask or some of the challenges that the technology will um uh we require let's say to  be solved to to be implemented efficiently so so first it's really a big work of working with our  customers to properly reflect their feedbacks and comments into the product development  so we make the products that are going to be uh the most uh if efficient let's say  to deploy for the use case so really trying to remove as many orders as possible from the the  design of the products and the functionality we're going to offer so it means yeah making  for instance for the industrial sector especially making a real Industrial Products that remains uh  uh efficient in terms of performance in terms of uh of Coast as well so really bringing trying to  solve the big challenges of making a rugged device that remains lightweight comfortable easy to use  so that's uh that's the first thing really and and after it's really yeah trying to facilitate  the adoption of the technology so we have the chance to work on really high added value use  case so I think companies are really interested in the technology and it's something but we've  seen a big improvement over the past uh couple of years let's say so again before the kovid and  after all the kovid I think for the use case we had resver has been uh companies of of much more  knowledgeable about the solutions and the benefits of what they can take from it so there is a lot of  interest but like you said someone who's been doing his job in a certain way for a very long  time maybe a little bit related to change and so and so this is where here it's really important  to make product better we are really striving to make the the product that are very simple to use  so not taking the problematics from the technology point of view but really from the the benefits  we want to bring to the user and and really trying to facilitate the the use of the product  so from this perspective I think we have a technology that is very efficient because it's  very easy to use very simple to set up you just put on the glasses in front of your eyes it works  it's very comfortable to use because the display is high quality very efficient so very simple to  use and set up and even on the usage perspective so we are taking step by step as well the the  evolution of the technology so right now focusing on simple experience so for remote assistance  through simple truly step-by-step instructions it's made also easy thanks to the controller of  our products which is like using a smartphone and actually now we also enable the use of compatible  smartphone via the USBC compatibility and I see this as a important leverage to continue  the adoption of the technology because it means those people even if they are not the most uh  technology Savvy for sure they are using customer life so so if we can let's say take that and just  increment the use of this my glasses on top when you need to be on three of course that's uh  I think yeah a good way to get those people to really use the technology for instance so so  those are some of the things that we are putting in place and and yeah continuing let's say to move  forward step by step to a future where we want to have like proper full-fledged augmented reality  with 3D objects Etc so so this will take some time and we are not rushed to get there because  we want to make things right and uh yeah make sure that people are using the technology already  so it means making it simple enough yes and also step by step I would say yeah this is the fourth  generation uh of the smart classes of moverio as far as I know so yeah that's amazing even that one  is an amazing development regarding the challenges I mean I think I can write a book overall with the  with the adoption of the technology every time uh Mark I'm saying like Okay there can't be  any other question that could be asked by the by the customers but I am amazed by every different  customer about their questions about this like adoption of something new especially working  with the new technologies in that like if they're doing all the operation in a very conventional  way I would say this is very very hard and one of the most asked question is about like Roi return  of investment how do you how do you measure that in your in your in your perspective I'm  very curious like shortly if you can mention that yeah so so this is really coming from our  customers because it's really from One customer to the other like you said the problematics can  be very different so so of course it will be uh it can vary from One customer to the other uh  but yeah we can very easily see the ROI of the the solutions we're implementing on the  English course sector and I think that's why for instance remote assistance has been one of the  first key application for as my glasses because it was really benefiting from the the fun factor  of the device to be able to be on three so to receive information and do things at the same time  and it was very easy for customers to calculate a return on investment because  it's easy to compare the cost of implementing the solution which is we did not but High let's say  it's uh there is no really particular variance from the site to get started with implementing  those projects and at the same time they can easily compare with what are the costs of sending  an engineer on site for instance so especially if I have to travel outside the country for instance  and and and the key thing it's of course there is that cost but our customers can also easily uh see  what's the cost of a downtime so and that's really the most important part of it is that  um they know what kind of uh problematic can arise if they stop the production for one hour  or 24 hours and and the thing is that sending a technician on site can take a lot of time because  you need to be available you need to allow for the travel time you need to  book the meeting in advance so then the time can really increase rapidly and and  potential loss then become like something crazy high so I was using this on on my pitches uh it  it was from one one research it was up to 20 000 Euros per minute the cost of the of the  downtime uh for big industrial organizations yeah it's not surprising for some for some  customers really the coast are like really really really uh a big issue and um and so  that's that's why I think the the the technology is really highly valued by the customers because  it really provides a good solution to trying to avoid those issues and and so that's why we  continue to see a lot of traction and Industrial sector and actually yeah we want to continue to to  really push for that because uh where we still a lot to do and a lot of customers to to convince to  adopt the technology and adopt it in a in a full way so that's what is really exciting even in a  few years and you know it we still like you said see everyday new new things new new challenges  and it's really interesting to helps the market to continue with that uh that those developers  absolutely absolutely no I think uh even the most exciting part is ahead so I would say  um some because new technologies are also opening some new doors where you can apply the apply this  technology and and make the most out of it so I would say in that sense uh the smart glasses  augmented reality especially for Industries is making a huge change and stay tuned let's say  so it's more to come um cool Mark Antoine so coming to end uh now so thank you very much uh  for joining us today and sharing your insights uh it was a pleasure for me to to have you here to to  host you uh and uh to help us a bit of understand from binocular smart glasses perspective like how  the how the smart glasses Market uh looks like um so thank you very much for this conversation  I'm I'm very very honored and very very uh very happy to have you here thank you to you and yeah  really yeah really happy to to work together to yeah on this market and to continue to push the  capabilities and the boundaries of the augmented reality in the industry absolutely absolutely  um and to our listeners thank you very much uh for tuning in uh to this episode of field  forward by beside uh stay tuned uh there will be much more exciting discussions uh on uh on  on the Forefront uh of the innovate Innovation if you like what you heard please don't forget  to subscribe on YouTube on podcast channels uh and get new episode of field forward every month  also uh as always we would love to have your feedback leave us a comment we will appreciate  your inputs uh to make this show even better um and the last note if you have any questions or  suggestions uh you can record and send us as a message we will definitely feature those uh and  answer uh on our next episode uh please find the link below uh and uh yeah thanks for listening  um you just listened field forward the ultimate A to Z uh podcast uh for field  operation professionals my name is Cihat Kahraman wishing you a wonderful day evening night ahead thank you everyone [Music]