Software Is Key For Wearables In The Enterprise

send you an alert regarding any new content related to the product. The processes that power Google Now could very well be applied to wearable apps.

But instead of celebrity gossip and sports updates, the notifications will alert to potential dangerous scenarios in the workplace (such as employees in proximity to a malfunctioning steam pipe). Sensors embedded in a pipe can communicate with employee wearables to stay away from the area.

Ensuring a capacity for the influx of data
Disseminating activity information from an entire factory workforce equipped with wearable devices such as Google Glass or an activity tracker is a legitimate challenge. Hundreds of vital signals and audio or video feeds create a serious infrastructure issue with such an increase in data. Hours of video feed and biometric streams will need to be accurately managed, secured, and delivered.

Although wearables will involve an element of big data, only the largest enterprises will produce enough data to face the associated data challenges. In the case of thousands of factory workers equipped with wearables, there would be significant need for advanced data analytics and big data integration. For straightforward projects such as streaming video wearables on an HVAC technician's hat, the system would be less complex.

Software applications for wearables will be needed for the back-end administrators as well as front-end users. Managers and supervisors will need dashboards for analysis, while employees will require bite-sized portions of information that can be seen at a glance.

When it comes to biometric tracking, the factory manager will not need to view every heartbeat. Displaying all of that content will disrupt processes, given that users would waste time searching through countless feeds. The manager only needs to be alerted when there are abnormal spikes in blood pressure, heartbeat, or audio feeds.

If an accident occurs there will assuredly be verbal cues from workers. But such scenarios can also trigger alerts that automatically go to the manager through an app on a wearable device. Considering that 12 people die every day while working in the United States, such analytics software would be ideal for dangerous occupations.

If businesses hope to improve productivity with wearable devices, IT managers should keep a firm eye on the software that will drive real value.

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