With its smart glove, Workaround has come up with a product that optimises the most-used tool in industry: the hand. It aims to make hand working faster, safer and easier.
The demands on intralogistics systems in production and materials management are rising constantly, while advances in digitisation are opening up new ways to meet them. High-efficiency systems and upgrades generally incorporate this trend, utilising the ever larger volumes of data based on intelligent solutions.
One particular development in this field is being marketed by Munich-based start-up business Workaround. The ProGlove smart glove optimises the most-used “tool” in industry: the human hand. The ProGlove aims to make work processes in production, assembly and logistics faster, safer and easier. It also serves to enhance efficiency and quality.
Scanning by a hand movement
Equipped with motion tracking and RFID, the ProGlove provides visual and haptic feedback to the wearer, indicating for example whether the right tool has been selected or the correct work sequence is being followed. With the ProGlove’s barcode scanner function, scanning operations can be incorporated into the worker’s natural hand movements. The ProGlove records every item the wearer processes, every tool used, and every action carried out. Additional applications can be embedded into it, such as access management for secure areas. The direct feedback to the worker means mistakes are avoided. All in all, users save time and improve their work processes thanks to the free hand movements they perform.
Seamless integration into existing processes
The development of ProGlove is based on the idea that wearable electronics are particularly well suited to enhancing procedures for which such aids are already in use anyway. Ultimately, the development “merely” enhances the glove as an essential and protective aid. Gloves are already seamlessly integrated into existing processes and broadly accepted as essential aids, so no new tooling has to be introduced and established. The ProGlove is based on Intel’s Edison wearables development module, and is already available for piloting.
(picture credits: ProGlove: Bernhard Huber)