Toshiba has revealed a new wearable solution targeted at businesses which consists of a mobile ‘edge computing’ device coupled with a pair of smart glasses.
The dynaEdge DE-100 edge computing device is driven by Windows 10, and when combined with the Assisted Reality AR100 Viewer glasses (developed in conjunction with Vuzix) forms a nifty hands-free wearable solution that targets manufacturing, logistics and maintenance staff across a range of industries.
The DE-100 promises to be a lightweight device which is powered by a 6th-generation (Skylake) Intel Core vPro CPU, with a swappable battery that offers a longevity of up to 6.5 hours on one charge.
The device plus glasses package supports the latest Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS standards, so the smart glasses can be hooked up to the corporate network in order to, say, stream live video direct from the field.
And Toshiba’s Vision DE Suite helps support various remote usage scenarios and is fully integrated with Skype for Business, meaning workers can pull off tricks like sending images back or sharing files while out in the field, as well as the aforementioned streaming video.
In other words, there’s a great deal of potential here in terms of collaboration between those back at the office and workers out in the field, and the likes of remote assistance applications.
Accessory action
Toshiba also revealed that in terms of accessories, it will offer an Assisted Reality AR100 Viewer Kit containing the smart glasses complete with a USB Type-C cable, a cable clip, holster and carrycase. Additional accessories will be available built specifically for certain industries and use cases.
Furthermore, Toshiba is hooking up with enterprise wearable experts Ubimax in what it describes as a long-term strategic partnership. Jan Junker, Chief Commercial Officer at Ubimax, explains: “We are delighted to partner with Toshiba and believe the combination of its technical expertise with our long-standing wearable experience will enable us to increase the acceptance and uptake of wearables in industry through innovative and ground-breaking solutions.
“Our installed base of more than 200 customers will now also be able to run their existing Ubimax solutions on the Windows 10-powered dynaEdge. We’re excited to develop this relationship on a long-term basis and will be announcing further integrations in the coming months.”
Toshiba says its dynaEdge AR100 Viewer smart glasses solution will go on sale in Europe at some point in the second quarter of this year. Pricing is still to be confirmed.
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