Google Meet for Glass promises a new way of remote assistance

Google has been aggressively pushing its Meet application, formerly known as Google Hangouts. Over the past few months, Google Meet has been made available to more users. The application has also been integrated with the main Gmail app. Google has also added several new features to enhance the experience. The latest in the series is Meet’s integration with the company’s smart glasses, Google Glass Enterprise Edition.

The company has launched Meet for Glass. It allows supervisors to see through users’ glass – similar to a live feed from an action camera. Supervisors can also chat with the user to help complete a task successfully. The feature is available to Google Workplace customers via a Google Meet for Glass beta programme.

Google in a post revealed that the company had tested Google Meet for Glass at its own data centres. Using Meet for Glass, Google data technicians could easily connect with each other’s to diagnose a problem. The platform also enabled them to review equipment. It also helped them to train new employees. The company further said that people switched to Meet to see what the technician is working on and assist them with better communication and real-time feedback.

“Glass has been helping on-site essential workers for years and now with Meet for Glass, we’re excited to continue supporting companies navigate new challenges with remote work as they unfold across industries. Google Workspace customers can apply to the Meet for Glass beta to get early access,” said Google in a blog post.

TheVerge in its report pointed out that Microsoft has been working on something similar since the first generation of HoloLens, a mixed reality headset. In one of the demos, Microsoft showed how the MR headset could help people monitor technician’s work – in this case fixing a light switch – through a Skype video call. The company, however, has shut down the Skype HoloLens application. Microsoft currently offers a new Dynamic 365 Remote Assist service which costs between $20 and $65 per user per month.