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Google relaunches Glass for businesses

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Re: Google relaunches Glass for businesses

#101

Post by erikpukinskis »

objclxt wrote: post #86
enjo wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wasn't that the point tho? Basically Google went: "We have this cool thing, but we're not sure were it's most applicable. Lets just put it out in the world and see what people do with it!" Which is what they did. The data they gained from that experiment no doubt led to this.

That's what they did after it was clear it was done as a piece of consumer hardware. It's easy to forget how hard Google pushed Glass to consumers. They parachuted people out of a helicopter onto the roof of the Moscone Center wearing them. They invested a vast amount of money building out massive floating barges to use as showrooms, which they quietly mothballed and sold. They allowed Robert Scoble to take a picture…

Promoting it to a room full of developers is not a "big push to consumers".

Robert Scoble is not really a consumer tech reporter either. He's more like a futurist. Most of the things he likes to talk about are things you can't buy.

Maybe because you got marketed to you are thinking it was consumer marketing, but consider that you were being marketed to as a developer not a consumer.

Re: Google relaunches Glass for businesses

#102

Post by tpeo »

maxerickson wrote: post #53
aresant wrote: post #9

This is so !@%!@ cool. Check out the A/B test of a technician with / without the software referenced in the article: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5gXuZp25f0 Then here's a video that gives a sense of the software's interface: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5HOHNECW20 Very workflow oriented with nice communication and lookup features. This is the kind of small optimization stuff that is going to be revolutionary…

The article says that a high skill, high knowledge, safety critical task performed on expensive machinery saw productivity gains of 10%. It seems for low knowledge/low skill tasks the gains would be less (because there is likely less need for operator to switch their information context during the tasks).

Low knowledge tasks aren't a bottleneck in contemporary manufacturing though, at least in so far as "low knowledge" correlates with being easily automated.

Tightening a screw or riveting a steel frame for example require little knowledge, but on the other hand they're easily automated. Or rather, more easily automated than reassembling and disassembling an engine.

Re: Google relaunches Glass for businesses

#103

Post by scott00 »

MBCook wrote: post #6

A lot of fluff here, but not much substance. I see how having large manuals or paper lists in your field of view could be very useful. Does it work well for employees with classes? I assume they've updated the chip inside to something less power-hungry. Does it get reasonable battery life now? Why do doctors need Glass to record notes in the background? Couldn't any computer run that software?

> Why do doctors need Glass to record notes in the background? Couldn't any computer run that software?

The doctor doesn't really use it. It's just transmitting the doctor's view of the clinic to a remote assistant who can take notes for the doctor. Doctors frequently find it difficult to operate electronic health record systems at the same time as doing the actual doctoring. So they either accept providing lower quality care in order to take notes during the session, or do the notes after the session with the patient (in which case they see fewer patients and make less money).

Re: Google relaunches Glass for businesses

#104

Post by skinnymuch »

hbosch wrote: post #95
skinnymuch wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Looks like it could be the same person, but wouldn't that make more sense? If it's different people then you're not just changing one aspect, the glasses in this case. The worker presumably has to do the same work many times. So he isn't doing the work in the video for the first time regardless. It's something he does regularly. They could do the work with glasses a couple of times and compare it with non-glass work…

If the worker did the Glass test after he did the non-Glass test, his productivity/efficiency increase could be attributed to memory and not just Glass.

Yeah. Hopefully they would do it multiple times. To not have memory be much of a factor.

Re: Google relaunches Glass for businesses

#105

Post by kbenson »

theptip wrote: post #60
LeifCarrotson wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've built a few assembly lines for automotive parts. These machines do one job, and probably only handle a couple part numbers: They might press a gear onto a motor shaft at one station, press on the plastic shroud at another, and add the grease and fasteners at the third station. These do have the operating instructions (Graphical, not English) laminated and displayed prominently above the machine. Someone with zer…

Good info there -- but I think I wasn't clear, I was suggesting moving the ring binder onto a table/rack right by the work-space, using something like a music stand. Seems like if the mechanic just had to turn around to access the ring-binder, instead of walking down a flight of stairs, the efficiency difference would be less.

Likely because the platform he is on is not static, and is likely a standard part for multiple technicians, and possible with more than one on it at a time. It looks like the engine is stationary, and the station moves to where he is needed. If that's the case, they could use some semi-specialized platforms for different uses, some with tables for manuals and parts, some without to accommodate more people at once. Then again, it's possible this worker needs a different set of tools an manuals for a different job a couple times a day, and having a bunch of work platforms might be less efficient in other ways than having a separate mobile tool/manual bench and work platform. That one isn't relocated on top of the other often might because it causes accidents when people change the loadout of the platform.

Or maybe it's as simple as them having determined in the past that making people move to shift tasks makes it less likely that they will attempt multiple at once from memory, and mess it up. Sometimes what looks like an inefficient process is actually serving another need you haven't considered, and is more efficient in the long run. Having technicians document each task as done and take a picture to confirm it might yield the same benefits, without the forced short-term inefficiency.

Re: Google relaunches Glass for businesses

#106

Post by rjsw »

LeifCarrotson wrote: post #31
theptip wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there a good reason they don't put that large manual up on a rack by the actual work area?

I've built a few assembly lines for automotive parts. These machines do one job, and probably only handle a couple part numbers: They might press a gear onto a motor shaft at one station, press on the plastic shroud at another, and add the grease and fasteners at the third station. These do have the operating instructions (Graphical, not English) laminated and displayed prominently above the machine. Someone with zer…

My PPOE was selling tablet computers for vehicle diagnostics 20 years ago that automatically detected the type of car and displayed the correct information for it.

Re: Google relaunches Glass for businesses

#107

Post by saimiam »

projectramo wrote: post #76
saimiam wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The history of you.

We can already obsess about memories using social media, but this would take it to level 3.

Oh man, if you haven't seen that black mirror episode, you should stop any other binge watching and watch it.

It's amazing.

Re: Google relaunches Glass for businesses

#108

Post by Infernal »

ryanobjc wrote: post #87
payne92 wrote: post #27

It's easy to armchair quarterback this stuff after the fact, but this is where Glass should have started. The price point, social stigma/issues, and use cases all screamed "business applications!". Consumer tech may be where the glamour and scale are, but it's not always the best market entry point.

Except you don't really know that. Hindsight 20/20 means that the current place seems inevitable. Here's an alternate future: - People were initially apprehensive of the high price, but a small dedicated fan base bought it up - Shortly after launch, Google drops the price by a $200 - People deride it's feature set, commenting on the things it "should" have included - Despite that, the interface is very good - A year…

Were you intentionally drawing parallels to the iPhone here?

Re: Google relaunches Glass for businesses

#109

Post by maxerickson »

tpeo wrote: post #102
maxerickson wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The article says that a high skill, high knowledge, safety critical task performed on expensive machinery saw productivity gains of 10%. It seems for low knowledge/low skill tasks the gains would be less (because there is likely less need for operator to switch their information context during the tasks).

Low knowledge tasks aren't a bottleneck in contemporary manufacturing though, at least in so far as "low knowledge" correlates with being easily automated. Tightening a screw or riveting a steel frame for example require little knowledge, but on the other hand they're easily automated. Or rather, more easily automated than reassembling and disassembling an engine.

Yes, that's what I meant. Any productivity gains from a HUD are likely to be in high skill/high information tasks and the article states that so far they were modest.

Re: Google relaunches Glass for businesses

#110

Post by dawnerd »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #64
losvedir wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wait, isn't that the same person in both videos? In that case, this is just a marketing spot demonstrating how it "could" work, not an "A/B test".

I suppose if those technicians are meant to go step-by-step through a checklist, and not to just work from memory, then this video still makes sense as an A/B test.

You'll still anticipate the next step which will speed things up. Pilots must follow a checklist but they also memorize the steps have have their hands in the right spot when it's time to call off an item.
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