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Apple’s first new product in years, the Apple Vision Pro, is silently trying to take over a market that was previously held by Google’s Google Glass – an augmented reality spectacle set that enabled aircraft technicians to carry out their daily jobs. Apple launched the Vision Pro last year, and after the headset became available, those who had preordered it shared their experience of using what Apple calls Spatial Computing. Unlike a traditional computer, the Vision Pro is a headset that enables users to immerse themselves in a digital environment and expand their ability to interact with software.
This is also being used in the aerospace industry, according to an Apple press release, a role that Google’s Google Glass played before.
Apple’s Vision Pro Is Helping Airlines Run Their Jet Engines Shares Firm
Google’s augmented reality glasses, the Google Glass, became quite popular when launched in 2013, with images of the firm’s founder Sergey Brin wearing the glasses spread all over the world. However, two years after launch, Google Glass was shelved and Google started to sell Enterprise Eiditons of the product that were focused on business use cases.
These managed to survive the market for eight years before Google stopped selling the smart glasses last year. One of Google Glass’ adherents was General Electric, which integrated the product into its jet engine assembly workflow. Through Google Glass, GE claimed that it had managed to improve its efficiency by as much as 11% and complete some tasks 25% sooner.
Tightening bolts on a jet engine is a tedious process that requires technicians and workers to remember complex bits of information to assemble the product safely. This is where Google Glass came in, as it took over some of the ‘computational workloads’ that would typically be performed by a technician’s brain.
Now, after Google Glass has officially become yet another shelved project by the Moutain View, California based firm, Apple is eager to pick up the mantle. A recent press release by the firm focuses on the engineering aspect of the Apple Vision Pro, a gadget that costs thousands of dollars and might find it difficult to find the mass market traction like the iPhone.
As part of its release, Apple shares that through the Engine Shop app for the Vision Pro, the Royal Dutch Airlines will allow technicians to train to maintain aircraft engines before they can start to work on the expensive and complex engineering products. According to Apple, the Vision Pro coupled with the application allows technicians to see repair instructions “overlayed” on the engine’s 3D model to reduce errors and improve efficiency.
Apart from aircraft engines, other engineering use cases shared by Apple allow Porsche engineers to analyze vehicle data in real time. Apple also revealed that the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT’s recent record of being the fastest U.S. electric car was helped by the Vision Pro. Porsche engineers used the headset to track the Taycan’s performance metrics in real time, which helped them make better decisions throughout the race.