A concept of eLabourers could soon be the norm alongside the rising use of smart glasses in labour-intensive sectors where workers can utilise wearables that can digitally assist them, with Harvest Technology (ASX: HTG) set to integrate their tech into other smart eyewear products.

The development has commenced through an agreement with Belgium-based Iristick NV which is a leading manufacturer of industrial smart safety glasses, wearables with the processing power of a smartphone. Transforming the legacy, but hugely vital safety glasses worn by labourers and laboratory workers around the world, Iristick’s smart safety glasses offer cameras, zoom lenses, voice commands, unrestricted field of view, and remote assistance that enables work instruction guidance from a central office.

Under the agreement, Harvest Technology will integrate their Infinity Wearwolf application into Iristick’s smart glasses which will embed video encryption and streaming functionality. This tech is already developed within Harvest’s own wearable technology which can be attached to a hard hat with functionality capable at super low bandwidth where network access is minimal in remote locations.

“We are very excited to be involved in a relationship with Iristick and look forward to our joint opportunities in the future. The synergies between our two companies are synonymous with a motivation to deliver high quality remote communications and assistance from anywhere in the world,” said Harvest Technology Managing Director, Paul Guilfoyle.

“We have successfully proven our Wearwolf™ application on multiple wearable platforms and we are confident it can be quickly adapted for use across other wearable devices. Given the expected growth in the wearables market, we are forecasting more than a 1000 new Wearwolf™ licenses in 2021.”

According to a 2020 study into Augmented Reality (AR) glasses, assisted reality glasses are projected to reach 12.7 million units by 2027. This has been further increased as a result of COVID, where remote visual access tech has rapidly emerged to reduce physical contact, now commonly used in fields such as telehealth, real estate, and construction.

Harvest and Iristick has successfully tested a prototype of the integration where communications were made and maintained between Australia and Belgium at 128kbps with a commercial product launch expected in the first quarter of 2021.