Google Glass could be a valuable tool for mining training

Vista Training Inc. sees Google Glass as a possible industry training tool. — Photo courtesy www.vista-training.com

In the world of giant trucks and massive heavy-duty equipment systems, here's a very small tool that has the potential to make a big difference, especially in industry training. Though Google Glass is not yet available to the general public, there is a lot of excitement about its capabilities and applications.

Basically, Google Glass is a computing device that is mounted on a type of eyeglass frame; it consists of a tiny prism screen that sits just to the upper right of the wearer's eye and is designed to display information, take pictures and video, respond to voice commands and even provide language translations. The user will be able to pair it with other devices such as a cellphone to have access to communication, maps and GPS navigation information.

According to Vista Training Inc., Google's soon-to-be-launched glasses could prove to be a valuable tool in mine and construction training. 

Here are some of the potential training applications of Google Glasses that we envision could develop over the next several years:

Delivery of training: The glasses will also have 12 GB of usable memory, synced with Google's cloud storage. That means training could be delivered anytime, anywhere. Courses could be stored on the glasses, which could communicate wirelessly with an LMS to track student progress.

Coaching: Google Glasses will be able to shoot pictures and record videos, using only voice commands. Real-time video could be very useful for just-in-time coaching. For the first time, the coach could see what's happening in the cab of the machine—from the student's viewpoint and vice versa. Imagine how this could transform "talk out loud performance," where the coach explains what he or she is doing at the moment, he or she is performing a task with a machine. This technology could also be used for confined space entry training, where the instructor could transmit video and audio to students above ground, explaining safe work practices for these potentially dangerous environments. The coach wouldn't even need to be in the same location as the student. That's revolutionary!

Vista Training also pointed out that the Google Glass could be used in situations where repair support or instruction is needed.

Imagine a repair technician, viewing a step-by-step process on how to replace a component on a machine as he performs the task.

It sounds like Google Glass is still a few months away from being rolled out to the general public—possibly by the end of 2013. You can read the full article on Vista Training Inc.'s website.