By Robbie Whelan
Wearable computers like Google Glass never took off with
consumers but the Internet-connected eyewear are finding their
niche in the logistics industry.
Exel, the North American arm of Deutsche Post DHL Group's
supply-chain management business, is preparing to test "vision
picking" -- replacing handheld scanners and paper job orders with
wearable "smart-glass" devices outfitted with warehouse management
software -- in two U.S. warehouses later this year.
The devices can tell workers the fastest route to find products
and can read bar codes, which reduced the time needed to pick out
an item and pack it for shipping by 25% in tests at a Dutch
warehouse earlier this year, Exel says. The technology has the most
application in e-commerce warehouses, where workers might need to
find a handful of items out of more than a million individual
products, the company said.
"A lot of the large operations need help supporting
e-fulfillment, especially with lots of [products] that might only
be available online. It really drives up warehouse complexity,"
said Adrian Kumar, vice president for solutions design with
Exel.
Mr. Kumar said technology like Google Glass could prove
especially useful during peak periods, when Exel hires thousands of
temporary workers.
"These are people off the street who are not familiar with our
warehouses, don't know where anything is, and we see huge potential
for that type of situation, especially with training," he said.
DHL already experimented with wearable computers in the
Netherlands. Workers at a Dutch distribution facility for the
printer and photocopier manufacturer Ricoh Co. Ltd. were able to
cut down on the time needed to pick products off the shelf and pack
them, Exel says. The workers were using wearable computers made by
Google and by Vuzix Corp. and software from German firm Ubimax
GmbH.
Google halted retail sales of Google Glass in January after poor
sales and a backlash over the device's ability to record video in
public places without other noticing. In July, the Wall Street
Journal reported that the company would begin distributing a new
version of Glass geared towards business users.
Write to Robbie Whelan at robbie.whelan@wsj.com
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