Why businesses should be looking at a future with Google Glass
Ahead of Google’s at Google’s I/O conference in San Francisco on Wednesday, which will allow budding app builders to try out Google Glass first hand, speculation has been mounting about just how far its use could extend.
While many are quick to state that two years from now, Google Glass probably won't have hit 1 per cent consumer market penetration, there is certainty that it will still be a success because of industrial and other business users.
Telegraph consumer technology editor, Matt Warman, suggested this morning that “the real uses for Google Glass, at least in the short term, are likely to come from businesses.”
He writes: “A look at how police forces, for instance, have begun to use technology such as Glass makes its potential business uses clearer. Incorporating image recognition means that in certain circumstances the idea of a salesman needing to look up information could be a thing of the past.”
Indeed, many have speculated that coffee shops could provide a pair of the glasses to every member of staff. It would allow staff to recognise customers individually, quickly find out what their usual order is, what time they regularly come in at etc., ultimately offering a better, and faster, service.
Benjamin Robbins, Principal at Palador, asks us to “imagine a shopping experience where access to real-time information such as product specs, reviews, and comparative pricing is available without needing to use your hands. Or how about needing a little help putting together that shelving unit you just bought from the home-improvement store? You could instantly be engaging with directions or even a live customer service representative.”
For a mechanic repairing a car, Glass could recognise all the parts automatically and make ordering replacements instant. For supervisors, they would have a much better window into how each employee is acting in their interactions with customers.
“Businesses would be able to engage with consumers in ways far beyond the mobile capabilities of today,” says Robbins.