• by Chase Martin , July 19, 2017

Google’s Glass is back and this time the device has a defined target market backed with multiple business case studies.

For the last two years, Alphabet’s X Company has been running a ‘limited program’ with its Glass augmented reality glasses for enterprise companies, such as GE.

Now, the so-called Moonshot Factory is expanding its efforts into an officially branded Glass Enterprise Edition product.

Intended markets include healthcare, logistics and manufacturing, among others.

“We’ve spent the last two years working closely with a network of more than 30 expert partners to build customized software and business solutions for Glass for people in these fields,” Jay Kothari, project lead of Glass at X, wrote in a blog post about the program.

“We’ve also made improvements to the design and hardware so that it’s lightweight and comfortable for long-term wear.”

Adopting the smart glasses also seems to drive measurable results at the enterprise level.

Along with the official launch of Glass, the X team also points to multiple case studies from companies involved in the early program, including Samsung and Volkswagen.

In Samsung’s case, employees pulling items at its global parts center warehouse were 22% faster when using Glass.

GE Healthcare implemented a similar solution for warehouse workers locating parts for MRI machines. Workers using Glass for the first time improved by 46%, according to GE.

GE Aviation also uses Glass and connected torque wrenches to improve efficiency and also log equipment maintenance. Every nut that is torqued in an engine is verified and recorded, according to GE.

Another area of use is in healthcare to augment the documentation process. Dignity Health uses Glass connected to an application that transcribes information for doctors as they work with patients. While doctors previously were spending a third (33%) of their day working on patient notes and other administrative tasks, those using Glass now spend less than 10% of their day doing so, according to Dr. Davin Lundquist, chief medical information officer at Dignity Health.

More than 50 companies are currently using Glass in some capacity, according to Kothari.

Companies looking to integrate Glass into their organization can purchase the devices and customized software for their needs from a network of ‘Glass Partners.’

The network currently lists 12 companies as official partners.