October 29, 2020 – Vuzix Corporation, a supplier of smart glasses and augmented reality (AR) technology and products, has this week announced that Valmet, a global developer and supplier of technologies, automation and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries, has deployed Vuzix M400 Smart Glasses at an industrial plant of CMPC, a South American pulp and paper company, to provide remote support between specialists and employees. Vuzix added that TotalPower Brazil, the company’s primary distributor in the region, was responsible for securing the Valmet account.
According to Vuzix, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, CMPC scheduled a 10-day maintenance shutdown at its Guaíbal plant in Brazil, implementing a strict prevention protocol for COVID-19 and employing solutions that could remotely address some of the plant’s operational demands.
Vuzix augmented reality smart glasses were used during the shutdown, enabling detailed analysis by Valmet specialists without requiring a physical presence of personnel on-site. The specialists were able to perform the maintenance process thanks to the device’s cameras, which clearly displayed the situations to be addressed by the technician at the industrial site. According to Maurício Harger, Director General of CMPC, the use of the technology was highly successful during the shutdown, which brought together more than 2,400 people and 74 supplier companies. Shortly after the shutdown, the plant reached a historic record for pulp production. A video discussing the shutdown operation can be viewed below.
Maurício Harger commented: “The smart glasses were an excellent tool, as they brought us the comfort of having the assistance of trained Valmet specialists in real time, without them leaving the house. On the same day, for example, a technical assistance manager, who was providing remote support, attended a CMPC unit in Guaíba and another in Santa Fé, Chile. This was only possible due to the remote support enabled by smart glasses.”
Paul Travers, President and CEO of Vuzix, said: “The versatility of our M400 Smart Glasses continues to drive customer demand across a wide range of industry verticals, and the stunning 4K video stream provided by the unit’s camera and powerful XR1 CPU has proven to be a distinct competitive advantage for us in most use cases.”
For more information on Vuzix and its augmented reality smart glasses, please visit the company’s website.
Image / video credit: Vuzix / YouTube
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Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix. With a background in research and report writing, he has been covering XR industry news for the past seven years.