It has been an exciting week at RealWear. We are extremely proud to share that they recently launched RealWear Navigator™ 500, an incredible combination of state-of-the-art hardware, user experience, hands-free app ecosystem and cloud technology.

RealWear Navigator™ 500 isn’t just a new iteration with additional features, but a part of a generational shift in how companies in the future will service and support their frontline workforce. There is a lot of attention given to what frontline industrial users actually need. The design and features reflect the feedback taken from over 5000 enterprise customers and partners who have been using RealWear’s assisted reality solutions.

They have focused on four key pillars which make up the gamut of features and design changes, taking the overall performance to a new level with improved worker safety, work productivity and ultimately resulting in business outcomes; and, they’ve already begun receiving strong support for the device from across the XR industry. 

Full-Shift Hands-free Use

Building on the resounding success of the hands-free, voice-controlled HMT-1®, the device focuses on visibility, comfort and safety, while further unlocking productivity and ROI. The new, modular approach now ensures that the new device is one-third the weight and size of its predecessor. It allows workers to comfortably complete tasks all day and easily hot-swap the battery without losing a minute on the job. The highlight is the new stunning 48MP camera with low-light capabilities and 5X zoom for enhanced remote collaboration. 

Mehow Kulma, the VP of Alliances & Partnerships at OverIT said, “As the industry moves forward, the flexible and adaptable modular design of the new RealWear Navigator™ 500 combined with the power of a low-light camera will greatly enhance the frontline experience and encourage longer use of our solution. This will ultimately enhance collaboration among teams while aiding in closing the skills gap, reducing errors, and increasing the resolution of operations. We look forward to continuing to develop and customize our products for a fully hands-free full-shift use.” OverIT is a long-time partner of RealWear. It specializes in supporting and optimizing Field Service initiatives by integrating its cutting-edge solution with RealWear. 

Tom Manelli, who is the Group Vice President for Device and Consumer Research at IDC goes on to elaborate, “While much focus has been placed on the shift to remote work for office workers, there is an increasing awareness of the unique industrial use-cases that are shifting expectations about remote field service and support. Particularly, in difficult, loud, and dangerous environments where consumer-grade technology solutions won’t cut it. In the plant environment or the field, traditional laptops, tablets or mobile devices are not the solution. Ruggedized wearables can now provide real-time, assisted-reality access to information, like the heads-up display in a jet pilot’s helmet, while assuring frontline industrial workers get the full field of vision and free hands they need to safely do the work. Importantly, this is not simply new features and capabilities – what RealWear is deploying is an assisted-reality form factor that is part of a generational shift in how industrial companies will service and support their operations in the field and on the factory floor.”

Echoing similar thoughts on prolonged and comfortable use, Christoph Gatzen, Head of I&C and Electrical Division and the Inspection Body, TÜV SÜD Energietechnik GmbH said, “RealWear has accelerated digital transformation and has been critical during this new reality of hybrid work. We expect that the modular design and improved camera will enable our workforce to use the device for longer hours and with great satisfaction and empowerment. We are also excited to take advantage of the new hot-swappable battery for continuous remote collaboration calls and to extend the device to new use cases. We are proud to continue partnering with RealWear, a true pioneer in Assisted Reality for the frontline worker.”

Revolutionary Modular Design 

RealWear Navigator™ 500 features a revolutionary modular platform that enables swapping out the device’s camera, display, wireless modem and other key components. This allows modifying the wearable for specific industrial use cases and ‘future-proofing’ it to support future technological advancements. 

Congratulating RealWear, on launching RealWear Navigator™ 500, Kedar Ganta, Global Director – Growth Verticals, Cisco said, “This is an exciting step in enhancing our support of frontline workers with the revolutionary modular design and a new camera for use with Webex Expert on Demand. We are committed to our journey of innovation with RealWear to create the best hands-free experience on Webex for millions of deskless workers worldwide.” 

Talking about the design, Guillaume Campion, who is the VP of Products & Partnerships at AMA said, “Our customers will now benefit from a flexible, adaptable modular design and the power of a low-light camera. This will not only greatly enhance the user experience but will improve the overall product lifecycle and encourage longer use of our solution. We can’t wait to bring this new device combined with XpertEye in the hands of our customers.”

Jan Junker, Executive Vice President – Solutions from TeamViewer calls Navigator™ 500 – another major design achievement building on the great success of HMT-1. “Our success with all those customers will continue to grow based on the new possibilities. The modular design approach of Navigator 500 perfectly supports our vision to enable all frontline workers with our solutions, no matter what the exact use case is, be it assembly, inspection, healthcare, or remote assistance work,” he explained.

Guillaume Calfati who is the Digital Experiences Lead at Stellantis explains, “For more than 10 years, Stellantis has been among the European leaders committed to the energy transition. To do so, we favor efficient and accessible technological solutions such as the one proposed by RealWear. Our teams are waiting for this new version that is modular, flexible and adaptable, with this new camera capable of operating even in low light. We will work to further improve our carbon footprint.”

 Enhanced Remote Collaboration

RealWear devices support a wide range of voice-enabled apps that are growing at an impressive rate. We already have over 200 leading software partners who have optimized their solutions for our device to enable remote expert guidance that eventually improves productivity, saves travel costs and reduces equipment downtime.

Kristina Behr, Vice President of Product, Microsoft 365 Frontline Worker and Industry, said “Microsoft Teams for frontline workers has grown tremendously thanks to partners like RealWear, and we expect RealWear Navigator™ 500 to take our success to new levels to accelerate hybrid work. With RealWear Navigator™ 500, RealWear allows industrial frontline workers using Teams to quickly collaborate with remote experts to safely solve complex issues while keeping their hands free and maintaining full situational awareness.”

Conrad Hofmeyr, CEO, JourneyApps highlights, “Best-in-class features make the fully rugged, Realwear Navigator™ 500 a compelling option for giving frontline workers hands-free digital access. Inspections, work orders and maintenance jobs can be executed while maintaining full situational awareness and significantly faster than using a smartphone, tablet or computer.” 

“RealWear Navigator™ 500 takes the power of the HMT-1 to the next level of performance and hands-free usability with Zoom. Enabling real-time collaboration using Navigator 500’s 48MP camera with enhanced Zoom capability will further enhance collaboration with remote subject matter experts in critical industries. We’re excited to work and innovate with RealWear to boost productivity while enhancing safety for frontline workers worldwide,” Randy Maestre, Head of Industry Marketing, Zoom. 

Secure, Seamless Sign-On & Enterprise Deployment

RealWear solutions are known to fully integrate with enterprise-class software, security protocols, and various device management solutions. RealWear Navigator™ 500 has been designed to improve these capabilities even further. The time and friction to get devices up and running, deployed and managed with secure sign-on options have been significantly reduced. Workers can connect and collaborate with remote experts, follow digital workflows, visualize IoT data, safely reduce downtime, eliminate travel, improve productivity while realizing significant ROI.

Virgile Dier, Product Manager, Artificial Intelligence & Big Data at Orange Business Services, “As part of our mission to support companies in their digital transformation, carbon footprint reduction and employee safety, RealWear’s Assisted Reality technology represents a major breakthrough for teams working in the field, regardless of industry. RealWear’s solutions combined with OBS’s technology and expertise address some of the most important issues facing our customers today.”

“We are so excited to see RealWear Navigator™ 500 launch powered by the Snapdragon® platform and look forward to seeing how different businesses and industries take advantage of its increased computation and field of view, higher resolution cameras, modular design and much more. Congratulations to the RealWear team, its partners and the entire XR industry,” stated Said Bakadir, Senior Director, Product Management for XR, Qualcomm. 

Tim Harader, VP Business Development, Librestream calls RealWear Navigator™ 500 a big step forward with wearables for frontline workers. He further added, “New elements like a modular camera and lightweight design bring exceptional features that will broaden usability and enablement of all types of workers. Librestream’s leading Augmented Reality collaboration platform, Onsight, has always been designed to empower the workforce regardless of the device; RealWear Navigator™ 500 further increases our shared ability to improve the customer experience and drive workforce transformation like never before.”

Michael M. Campbell, EVP & GM – Augmented Reality, PTC believes that RealWear has once again delivered a best-in-class product for the connected industrial worker. “Focusing on comfort, visibility, and safety, RealWear Navigator™ 500 has taken what users love about the design of the HMT-1 and stepped it up to enable industrial organizations to unlock additional use cases and ROI from digital eyewear. Combined with PTC’s leading Vuforia Enterprise AR Suite, Navigator 500’s new low-light camera and modular design will enable organizations to empower their employees with augmented work instructions and critical remote support capabilities they need to get their jobs done, as well as to scale as Extended Reality hardware and software continue to evolve,” he added. 

Martin Plutz, Founder & Managing Direct, oculavis GmbH who believes the future is hands-free said, “As a partner from the very beginning, oculavis is proud to bring its serial award-winning visual assistance & augmented reality workflow solution to RealWear’s brand new product, RealWear Navigator™ 500. The evolution of RealWear impressively shows the human-centricity and highest demand for ergonomics of the hardware design. The competitive position of RealWear as world market leader for assisted reality devices is further expanded and we are glad to have such a strong partner at our side.”