Status: October 12, 2021 3:22 p.m.
All information is displayed directly in the glasses: In order to make its augmented reality solutions marketable, the German company Teamviewer will be cooperating with Google in the future.
In the future, retailers and supermarkets will be able to order their goods even faster and more easily than at present. To this end, the German software company Teamviewer has developed an augmented reality solution that can also be accessed via Google.
Augmented reality
The term Augmented Reality (AR) means “augmented reality” and describes an interplay of analog and digital life. In the case of Teamviewer and Google, this interaction is achieved using glasses, but it also works with the camera of a smartphone. The user is shown additional information about their surroundings via the glasses. For example, a warehouse worker can see on which shelf he can find the replacement part he is looking for, or useful information about the technical component that he is supposed to repair is displayed to the mechanic.
Simple solutions for retail
It allows retailers to give up theirs without a single click of the mouse. The goods or groceries that an employee wants to order are displayed in Google’s glasses – the so-called Google glasses. The employee can then use a scanner that is worn like a ring on the finger to record the goods. This means that the “Vision Picking” software developed by Teamviewer is also used.
Teamviewer manager Alfredo Patron explains that the application is linked to the order processing of retailers and grocers so that the inventory is updated in real time. They want to expand the partnership as quickly as possible so that the technology can also be used in manufacturing, field service and supply chain processes.
An important signal for investors
For Teamviewer, the cooperation came at the right time: Last week, the company caused disappointment with its quarterly figures. In addition, the forecast for the current and the coming year has been lowered. The share price crashed as a result, and the paper has lost almost 35 percent since then. Since the beginning of the year, the loss has been more than 60 percent – one of the biggest loss makers in the MDAX.
The fourth quarter is now particularly important, the management emphasized when presenting the figures. Thanks to the announcement of a cooperation with Google, the share was initially able to stabilize and even increase by seven percent. In view of the highs of almost 50 euros reached in the spring of this year, however, the increase cannot hide the high losses since the beginning of the year.
Micorsoft and Snapchat have the edge
The pioneer in AR glasses for private use is Snap, which introduced the “Spectacles” glasses back in May. The creators of the Snapchat photo app, in which the images sent can only be seen once for a few seconds, have developed glasses in which digital content is displayed directly in the user’s field of vision. So far, however, it has not been possible to buy it as a private person; it is reserved for selected users.
Facebook and Apple are working on similar projects: Both companies have announced corresponding products for the near future. Microsoft is already one step further: At the beginning of the year, the company was awarded the contract as a software group to supply 120,000 AR glasses to the US Army.
German know-how is in demand
Bosch is also involved in the market: the Stuttgart-based group presented the prototype of lightweight and slim AR glasses at the CES technology fair at the beginning of 2020. It shows route instructions or chat messages, for example. In addition, there is always speculation as to whether the company might be a possible supplier for Apple.