Leon Laroue, Technical Product Manager, Augmented Reality, Epson America Inc., talks about how augmented realityOpens a new window can transform remote assistance for field service personnel in this candid Tech Talk Interview with Toolbox. Leon explains why real-time collaboration between remote experts and on-site field personnel will lead to increased productivity, improved customer satisfaction and reduced travel costs. As augmented reality is fast becoming the most preferred way to find and repair damages, Epson’s Moverio AssistOpens a new window leads the way for AR devices, he says.
In this exclusive conversation with Toolbox, Leon focuses on how augmented reality remote assistance can aid field technicians in real-time and why is it important to leverage remote assistance solutions in 2019 and beyond.
Leon also answers questions on:
- Will remote assistance solutions disrupt enterprise AR or enhance it?
- Why natural language processing technology is a boon for AR powered devices.
- What kind of AR variants should developers be keen on learning in the years to come?
Key takeaways from this Tech Talk interview on AR devices:
- Find out the key uses of augmented reality for organizations
- Learn why remote assistance solutions are relevant today
- Stay updated about augmented reality remote assistance trends for 2020
Here’s what Leon shares on augmented reality for maintenance:
Leon, to set the stage, tell us about your career path so far and what your role at Epson entails.
My academic background is in Computer Science and Cognitive Science. I completed my undergraduate studies at UC Berkeley. I spent four years at Goldman Sachs in NYC as a software engineer working on mostly backend applications to support the firm’s derivatives trading business. I then went to business school at UCLA where I focused on technology management and entrepreneurship, and now I’m a technical product manager at Epson. My role at Epson is to be both a hardware and software product manager. I launch and manage our AR smart glasses products (handling marketing, strategy, partnerships, channel), I work with third party software companies to bring smart glasses apps/solutions to market, and I work with software developers to cultivate a developer community around our smart glasses.
Could you tell us about the key uses of augmented reality in organizations in 2019?
Three of the most popular enterprise applications of AR are:
Remote assistance – Real time collaboration between field personnel and remote “experts†whereby an expert can see what field personnel see via a live camera feed and is able to help in the form of audio instructions, picture and file sharing, and illustrations.
Work instructions – Generally offline, pre-programmed step-by-step digital instructions that field personnel reference while completing maintenance, repair and inspection jobs; instructions may involve viewing manuals, scanning codes, taking pictures etc.
Warehouse pick-and-pack – Commonly seen in warehouses where huge volumes of boxes and other inventory need to be sorted, cataloged, and shipped; assistive technology (e.g. wearable barcode scanners) helps warehouse workers process items quicker and with fewer errors.
In all three use cases, the assistive AR technology can be delivered via a phone/tablet solution, or a smart glasses solution. When it comes to smart glasses, there are monocular displays (single lens) and binocular displays (two lenses). Additionally, various solutions exist for each use case, some incorporating more mixed reality features than others.
Learn More: Five Ways Augmented Reality Can Improve Corporate ITOpens a new window
How important are remote assistance solutions in 2019 and beyond?
The benefits of remote assistance solutions are straightforward, and they’re as relevant today as ever before:
Improve training – Across all industries and verticals where field service teams exist, expert resources are aging and retiring and are becoming more difficult to transport across the country and around the world. Remote assistance solutions make it easier to train new, young talent for skilled trade roles. Reduced travel for expert resources also means reduced costs.
Increase productivity – Real time collaboration between field personnel and remote experts means tasks get done right the first time as quickly as possible. As a result, field service teams can get more done in a workweek and add to their company’s top line.
Deliver customer satisfaction – Customers ultimately want to receive quality products and services in a timely manner. Companies that make use of efficiency tools like remote assistance solutions can deliver on that because they’re able to make use of all available resources.
Your new solution, which is specifically optimized for Moverio smart glasses will connect remote experts and on-site field personnel. Could you elaborate more on how such solutions can help field technicians in real-time?
Our new solution, Moverio Assist, is a simple, affordable, turnkey solution for remote assistance built specifically for our Moverio smart glasses. The solution itself is as easy to use as any video chat app you might have on your phone or tablet; except it’s optimized for our transparent smart glasses. We’ve created this solution for any organization with a field service team – SMB or enterprise scale. And we’re targeting a very broad range of verticals including HVAC, insurance, manufacturing, appliance repair, AEC, water treatment, plant machinery, logistics, and IT/AV solutions.
The idea is pretty simple: Field service personnel carry Moverio smart glasses with them in the field like they do any other tools, and when they encounter a situation that requires expert assistance, they simply put the glasses on and make a call to a colleague back at the office. Moverio Assist enable remote experts to see what field personnel are seeing via a front-facing camera on the glasses.
In addition to providing audio support, remote experts can send rich media (e.g. pictures, PDFs, videos) that field personnel can view in the HD display of the glasses. In this way, field technicians and personnel can get relevant information delivered to them in a timely manner that will enable them to complete whatever repair, maintenance, or inspection job they’re working on.
In your opinion, will remote assistance solutions disrupt enterprise AR or enhance it?
I think the answer to this question depends largely on the specific remote assistance solution in question. There are some solutions, hardware and software, that are testing the upper bounds of what’s possible with existing technologies and delivering some very sophisticated and very awesome experiences and PoC’s. These I think would be considered more sustaining technologies rather than disruptive technologies in Clayton Christensen’s widely agreed-upon definition of the terms.
Meanwhile, there are enterprise AR solutions that focus more on increasing access, improving affordability, and driving adoption, while delivering a product or service that is just what the market has demanded in terms of its features. These solutions, which start at the ‘low end’ of the market and target mass adoption, I would consider disruptive for enterprise AR.
Learn More: Five Ways Technology Will Revolutionize the Workplace By 2030Opens a new window
Could you elaborate on how natural language processing technology can allow users to communicate with the glasses in a hands-free environment?
Being hands-free is a huge part of the value proposition of remote assistance solutions for smart glasses – it’s something that’s simply not possible with hand-held phones and tablets. Natural language processing and voice assistant technologies are providing a truly hands-free user interface mechanism. For many smart glasses’ devices, the native user interface may require occasionally having to use a controller or touchpad or phone.
With voice control, users such as field service personnel can simply speak commands like “Call Leonâ€, “Open PDFâ€, “Find user manual for model XYZ123†etc. The underlying application simply understands those commands and acts accordingly. Every second that smart glasses users can remain hands-free means additional time spent focusing on the maintenance, repair, or inspection job in front of them.
Will plug and play features evolve in the future of augmented reality? What kind of AR variants should tech developers be keen on learning in the years to come?
Absolutely, the future of AR/VR is plug-and-play, both from a hardware and software perspective. VR is a great example, in a few short years, we’ve gone from VR headsets that require tethering to a powerful PC and external position tracking cameras to be placed in a physical room to now very mobile, all-in-one VR headsets with built-in 6Dof tracking and expanded VR content. In AR, we now have smart glasses devices that connect directly to smart phones, giving users instant access to all the content they’ve grown accustomed to on their phones.
And when it comes to accelerating adoption of enterprise AR, plug-and-play solutions are key. Many companies want something turnkey, off-the-shelf. They don’t want to have to invest thousands or millions of dollars developing their own solutions if they can void it. That’s why we’ll see more and more plug-and-play enterprise AR solutions.
I think software developers interested in AR should continue to hone their mobile development skills (Android and Windows are standard OS for many AR HMDs), as well as get familiar with cross-platform AR SDKs such as ARCore and Wikitude.
Tell us about the upcoming projects in AR at Epson that you are excited about.
The two biggest projects that I’m working on that I’m excited about are:
Public launch of Moverio Assist in September – While we announced the solution back in June, the service has only been available to a closed group of hand-picked beta testers. In September, we will launch Moverio Assist to the public. We’re excited to bring a solution to the market that breaks down barriers associated with trying and adopting new enterprise AR technologies, namely costs and development efforts. I’m personally excited to see all the different companies from all sorts of industries adopt Moverio Assist as their remote assistance solution.
New captioning and subtitling installations using Moverio BT-30C smart glasses, without giving away too much, my team is working on some new and exciting captioning and subtitling installations at venues that are looking to incorporate our BT-30C smart glasses to deliver assistive technologies for the deaf and hard-of-hearing. We’ll be rolling out at several venues in the coming months. We’re excited to be leveraging our AR smart glasses technology to deliver on such a worthy cause.
Which trends are you tracking in this space as we approach 2020?
A few of the trends I’ll be keeping an eye on are:
- Will smart phone AR really ramp up mass adoption of AR as many thought it would? Harry Potter Wizards Unite hasn’t had the same kind of buzz as Pokémon Go.
- Are the (potentially) disruptive enterprise AR solutions available today enough to tip the scale for businesses to really adopt AR into their day-to-day work?
- Can AR/VR hardware manufacturers dramatically accelerate adoption through drastic improvements in battery, display, and sensing technologies?
Neha: Thank you, Leon, for sharing your invaluable insights on AR devices for remote assistance. We hope to talk to you again soon.
About Leon LaroueOpens a new window :
Leon Laroue is a technical product manager of Augmented Reality Solutions at Epson America, Inc. His focus is in supporting and growing the developer community for Epson’s Moverio family of smart glasses products, as well as in identifying third-party software and hardware vendors for partnership opportunities. Additionally, Leon is responsible for new product design and development. Epson’s Moverio family of smart glasses products enable next-generation AR experiences, from the home to the jobsite, including in media, gaming, and entertainment. Leon is actively searching for technologies, content creators and creation tools, and applications that both add utility to Moverio and bring rich AR experiences to the masses. Prior to his current role at Epson, Leon developed enterprise software for Goldman Sachs and Co. Leon holds a B.A. in Computer Science and Cognitive Science from UC Berkeley, and an M.B.A. from UCLA.
About EpsonOpens a new window :
Epson is a global technology leader dedicated to becoming indispensable to society by connecting people, things and information with its original efficient, compact and precision technologies. The company is focused on driving innovations and exceeding customer expectations in inkjet, visual communications, wearables and robotics. Epson is proud of its contributions to realizing a sustainable society and its ongoing efforts to realizing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, the worldwide Epson Group generates annual sales of more than U.S. $10 billion. Epson America, Inc., based in Long Beach, Calif., is Epson’s regional headquarters for the U.S., Canada, and Latin America.
About Tech Talk:
Tech Talk is a Toolbox Interview Series with notable CTOs from around the world. Join us to share your insights and research on where technology and data are heading in the future. This interview series focuses on integrated solutions, research and best practices in the day-to-day work of the tech world.
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