HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--(Offshore Technology Conference - OTC) - RealWear®, the global leader in ruggedized wearable computers for industrial customers, today announced that it has taken a big step forward and further validated the industrial wearable computing market. RealWear signed a strategic agreement with Honeywell to co-brand and sell the RealWear HMT-1® and HMT-1Z1™ wearable computers and accessories globally. The HMT-1Z1 is the world’s first and only intrinsically safe head-worn wearable computer (ATEX Zone 1 and Class 1 Division 1) for the highly competitive industrial sector, including the energy and process manufacturing industries.
“With Skills Insight Intelligent Wearables, part of our Honeywell Connected Plant portfolio, we are focusing on how to make industrial workers safer and more productive when they are out in the field,” said Youssef Mestari, Program Director, Honeywell Connected Plant. “The RealWear HMT-1Z1 head-mounted, wearable computer helps us to efficiently connect the worker to the information he or she needs in real time from anywhere.”
“With the level of strength from Fortune 100 players like Honeywell, we are well poised to get these intrinsically safe wearable computers quickly into the field to empower hands-free connected workers, wherever they go,” said Andy Lowery, Cofounder and CEO of RealWear.
“We’ve had good success onboarding and deploying HMT-1 units and are eagerly awaiting the HMT-1Z1™ units,” said Bryan Shackelford, an innovation representative at Eastman Chemical, Worldwide Engineering and Construction Services and Solutions. “Those intrinsic safety-rated units will serve to bridge workflow into hazard-rated areas where we’ve historically had difficulty deploying new technology. We hope to see a step change in operations with the deployment of the RealWear HMT-1Z1.”
In a recent Bloomberg-Business Week article, it was reported that one oil and gas company spent $50,000 in just travel to fly a specialized crew by helicopter to replace a critical turbine. However, that cost is dwarfed by the lost revenue incurred during the arduous travel. An average-sized refinery will lose $12 million per day due to an unplanned outage. These travel costs and the loss of revenue is avoidable with a connected worker strategy centered around the RealWear HMT-1Z1. A connected field worker can safely communicate with experts anywhere in the world, adding eyes and real-time information to a complicated operation at a refinery or on an oil platform. The device can help bring a heavy-duty machine back online in minutes or hours, not days, saving millions.
Certified for ATEX Zone 1 use, the HMT-1Z1 is the only global intrinsically safe product on the market, meaning it presents no ignition risk where potentially explosive atmospheres exist during routine operation. There are about 700 oil refineries globally with 250,000 users in North America alone who are currently using intrinsically safe two-way radios, mobile phones, and other devices that all require the use of workers’ hands, but who are better served with a voice-controlled ruggedized wearable computer.
ABI estimates energy and utility companies’ annual spend on AR headsets and related technology will reach $18 billion in 2022, among the most of any industry.
The RealWear HMT-1Z1™ can be purchased directly through Honeywell.
About RealWear
RealWear®, the global leader in hardware technology for industry, has built the first hands-free ruggedized head-mounted wearable computer for Connected Worker programs, the HMT-1. RealWear has more than 350 customers worldwide in oil and gas, utilities, automotive and manufacturing. Through its growing ecosystem of 75 software providers, RealWear offers remote mentor, document navigation, industrial IoT visualization and digital workflow solutions to reduce downtime, increase productivity and improve worker safety, eliminating the need for costly or dangerous repairs.
