Hardware firm RealWear to partner with Volkswagen

Workers at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles will soon take RealWear’s head-mounted tablet computer for a test drive.

RealWear, headquartered in Vancouver, announced a new trial between the two companies Monday that will aim to ease and speed up maintenance work done by technicians.

Ten maintenance centers in the United Kingdom will be given the HMT-1, RealWear’s device that uses cameras, screens and microphones to link technicians both visually and audibly.

Paul Anderson, Service Operations Manager at the Volkswagen Group subsidiary, said the device offers a chance to try to speed up repairs without losing quality.

“This is an exciting step forward in maximizing uptime for our customers through the use of augmented reality and remote diagnostic tools,” he said.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Spokesman Aaron Cohen said the trial is already underway.