Google introduces Glass Enterprise Edition

Google Glass, the internet-linked eyewear is back in the news after a two-year hiatus, this time aimed at helping workers do their jobs.

General Electric, Volkswagen, and Boeing are among over 50 businesses taking part in testing a Glass Enterprise Edition in a limited programme, project lead Jay Kothari said in a blog post.

Three years ago, an Explorer programme allowed developers and other "early adopters" try out the glasses, in an early test of potential business applications, but the initiative was held back in 2015.

"Workers in many fields, like manufacturing, logistics, field services and health care find it useful to consult a wearable device for information and other resources while their hands are busy," Kothari said.

The team at Glass, which was back to being part of the X lab innovative new technologies unit at Google-parent Alphabet, had spent the past two years customising the eyewear for workers.

According to Kothari feedback from businesses taking part in the programme had prompted a decision to make Glass Enterprise Edition available to more companies.

Financial details of the programme were not disclosed and following the end of the Explorer programme, corporate restructuring had put the division devoted to "moonshots" such as internet-linked eyewear and self-driving cars under corporate parent Alphabet.

According to commentators, Glass Enterprise Edition still largely resembled the original smart glasses, with an optical head-mounted display and built-in camera. The new version came with improved battery life, an eight megapixel camera, up from 5-megapixel from the previous model, better Wi-Fi connectivity, and a more powerful processor.

''We first saw signs of Glass' potential for businesses in the Glass Explorer days,'' project lead Jay Kothari wrote in a blog post announcing Glass Enterprise Edition.

''Now the Glass product team is back at X, and we'll be collaborating with the Google Cloud team and our partners to help customers across a variety of business sectors make the most of Glass'', said Kothari.  ''Together, we're looking forward to seeing more businesses give their workers a way to work faster and in a more focused way, hands-free.''