Smart glasses combine virtual reality with artificial intelligence on the assembly line

Lenovo, the Chinese company that bought IBM’s personal-computer business, has announced that its combination of virtual reality and artificial intelligence will hit the market this June.

The New Glass C200 uses a single-eye lens to augment reality by projecting images onto the lens that relate to what the user is seeing. The system’s AI software then can identify and label what the user is looking at.

For example, a mechanic needs to repair a complex machine in a factory. Donning the C200, the mechanic could look at the machine and each machine part’s name would appear on the lens next to the view of the part. Then the AI software could call up the repair manual and lead the mechanic through the steps of disassembling the device.

The smart glasses also could communicate the images of the machine back to the machine’s supplier, where techs could confer in real time with the mechanic.

Lenovo’s device operates through a smartphone app, making it more mobile than if it were based on a tablet or notebook computer.