Upskill releases new software for smart glasses

Upskill, a wearable technology provider funded by Boeing Co. and General Electric Co., has released a new version of its software for augmented reality (AR) devices that display visual information for warehouse or maintenance workers, the company said Tuesday.

Vienna, Va.-based Upskill's latest Skylight software platform supports an improved user interface (UI) for easier adoption and improved scalability that allows users to deploy smart glasses across a global workforce, the company said.

Employees who wear smart glasses powered by the software can see information such as inventory picking instructions or maintenance diagrams superimposed over the real-world view they can see through the glasses. The approach allows AR users to keep their hands free for material handling and helps warehouses to quickly train new workers to handle peak demand, according to the Upskill website.

Chicago-based Boeing and Boston-based GE are among the customers using Upskill technology.

Upskill has also won funding from New Enterprise Associates (NEA), a venture capital firm that has made major investments in supply chain technology startups, such as $50 million for prescriptive analytics vendor Aera Technology and $42 million for online truckload marketplace provider Transfix.