Ranging from smart glasses to wearable sensors, one of the emerging areas of interest is inspection and maintenance related applications, says Canada-based software company Librestream.

The company adds that, whether it is scheduled inspection of an asset, repair of a breakdown, or an important safety check, enterprise wearables provide the ability to connect plant workers with remotely located equipment experts, either directly, or through work instructions and other augmented content.

When it comes to the inspection of a complex industrial asset, access to specialised knowledge can be invaluable – particularly in the case of plant workers who have not yet accumulated the wisdom of 20 years’ experience.

“This is where pairing a wearable device with digital work instructions can empower employees to carry out inspections faster and capture asset data more accurately.”

For example, a field worker armed with a pair of smart glasses loaded with work instruction software can, through the asset identity, view all relevant information, record data, and generate a full digital report to add to the organisational knowledge base.

“Using this approach, technicians can perform tasks hands-free while talking and viewing feedback from remote experts.”

The company also mentions that, with built-in augmented reality, the experts can annotate on top of the live visuals, or send snips from relevant instruction manuals to enhance the performance of workers in the field.

Moreover, Librestream is a company dedicated to empowering workers through technologies that help them inspect and maintain assets anywhere globally.

In conjunction with ecom, a brand of electronics manufacturer Pepperl+Fuchs group, the pair recently announced a development aimed to ease the difficulties associated with safety inspections in zoned hazardous locations.

“Using Librestream’s Onsight Cube-Ex wearable camera with ecom’s intrinsically safe smartphone, workers are able to view video data or capture and send images. Strapped to a hardhat, the camera provides the flexibility for hands-free inspections or it can be mounted near equipment to enable remote viewing,” says Librestream.

The company explains that, during a live session, remote experts can control the system’s light, zoom and camera modes to get a better view of any problem areas. The functionality provides workers a completely hands-free inspection experience with live audio feedback and the ability to view visual input on the connected mobile device.

“This is a great example of how the technologies of the Industrial Internet of Things can be used to connect people to things to create new tools that allow workers to perform tasks more efficiently and with higher levels of personal safety,” the company concludes.