3 min read

Through the looking glass: Power Apps and RealWear

By Arijit Basu

June 19, 2024

Frontline workers are the backbone of many industries and organizations, as they interact directly with customers, products, and processes. They are often the first to spot opportunities, challenges, and risks, and they need tools that can help them act quickly and efficiently.

According to Work Trend Index Special Report, frontline workers account for 80% of the global workforce, but despite their essential role in every industry, these workers have traditionally been underserved by technology. This creates a huge gap between their needs and the solutions available to them. Having the right tools to execute the work is especially critical in automotive, healthcare, and manufacturing in roles such as maintenance, inspection, and communication.

Power Apps invests a lot into enabling developers to build seamless mobile experiences, and a lot of frontline workers already benefit from the ability to use the custom low-code solutions resting in the palm of their hand. However, there are industries and scenarios where hand-held devices fall short.

Power Apps available on RealWear devices

We are excited about our long-term partnership between Microsoft and RealWear, producer of Smart Glasses for frontline workers. Microsoft Teams has been available on RealWear for some time already, making communication and learning between colleagues easier than ever.

Today we’re thrilled to announce the availability of Microsoft Power Apps public preview on RealWear devices and the RealWear Marketplace. The ability to build and deploy custom solutions for frontline professionals on RealWear devices is another step in our vision to empower every individual on the planet.

We are thrilled to expand our collaboration with Microsoft, utilizing Microsoft Power Apps to create innovative and efficient solutions for frontline workers. Integrating our hands-free, voice-controlled, industrial Smart Glasses with Microsoft’s Power Platform enhances productivity and safety for our users. This integration also ensures real-time data transfer and retrieval from the Microsoft Dataverse, further improving operational efficiency. This partnership reflects our dedication to advancing technology that supports the evolving needs of frontline professionals.
CPO of RealWear, Rama Oruganti

Power Apps availability on RealWear devices will enable our users and frontline workers to use the low-code solutions built with Power Apps on a completely new device that’s built for greater flexibility and mobility and to help boost productivity on the go. With hands-free operation and voice-controlled navigation, applications built with Power Apps and deployed on RealWear devices will empower the employees to achieve more in a simpler, more convenient manner.

RealWear users will be able to download Power Apps from the Realwear Marketplace.

Once downloaded, users will be able to seamlessly navigate their apps through voice control and find the right application for their use. For example, a maintenance inspection worker can simply say “Asset Maintenance” to launch a custom-built inspection application when starting the work on a piece of equipment they are unfamiliar with.

View through the RealWear device showing the menu of applications that the user can select using voice commands.

View through the RealWear devices showing the list of applications built with Microsoft Power Apps available to them. — Once the user selects Power Apps, they see the list of applications built with Microsoft Power Apps available to them.

Enabling frontline with the right tools

With Power Apps on RealWear devices, developers can create applications that fully leverage the advanced hardware features of these devices. These include the ability to operate entirely hands-free in hazardous, high-noise environments, and use of additional hardware for example the Thermal Camera module that enables users to identify faults and detect issues, while remaining safe and compliant.

One of the companies who has been using RealWear integration with Power Apps already is Raymond West. They have built solutions for their technicians to help them execute their work in the warehouses.

View of the Raymond West custom Power Apps application - Quick Workflow - through the RealWear device view. — View of the Raymond West custom Power Apps application – Quick Workflow – through the RealWear device view.

View of the “View Assets” screen in the RealWear application built with Power Apps. This view includes the used thermal camera view.

Training Development and Technology Manager of Raymond West, Adam Wyand, commented on what they are seeing as a result:

At Raymond West, we have integrated Power Apps with our RealWear headsets to accelerate customer support response time and reduce escalations by providing our technicians with access to multimedia resources, workflows, and internal communication channels developed using Power Apps. This solution has been a critical tool for our field technicians who face pressure to resolve customer issues, yet still must walk a fine line in maintaining a safety-first approach while working with high voltage systems and confined spaces.
Adam Wyand, Training Development and Technology Manager, Raymond West

We are excited to see how Power Apps on RealWear devices can empower frontline workers in various industries and scenarios. We encourage you to try out the new features and share your feedback with us. You can also join our community and learn from other developers who are creating innovative solutions with Power Apps. Together, we can transform the way we work and create value for our customers.