5) DHL Supply Chain & Google Glass – Don’t count out Google Glass out just yet, because the technology is on a comeback this year with Google Glass Enterprise. Rather than aiming for the consumer crowd, this newer version of Google technology is focused on business processes, such as warehouse efficiency improvement. X, the subsidiary of Google parent company Alphabet and the current home of the Glass technology, earlier this year relaunched the headset with a focus on supply chain management.
DHL Supply Chain, which has been experimenting successfully with AR technology for many years, announced it would expand its AR program across different industries and conduct more pilot trials in the U.S. and U.K., using headsets made by Google Glass and Vuzix. In Australia, DHL Supply Chain has kicked off a proof-of-concept AR project with Canon. The AR software has also made the heads-up displays more dynamic. In addition to highlighting the container in which a worker should place the current item, the software creates a different color to highlight the next tote box, allowing the worker to continue picking, even in the case of a delay in the system.