Zinc on RealWear
Service technicians working in the field often need both hands free while receiving guidance from a remote subject matter expert. Zinc on RealWear addresses this by running on a head-mounted display that supports voice commands and a small screen positioned in the technician's line of sight. A technician can join video calls, view conversation timelines, and see live annotations from remote participants without holding a phone or tablet.
The Zinc app on RealWear focuses on calling and conversation viewing. Certain features available on other platforms, such as the people directory, broadcast feeds, search, and message composition, are hidden on RealWear to keep the interface streamlined for hands-free field work.
Key Capabilities
• Email-based login and logout from the Zinc app on RealWear devices.
• Voice command support: technicians can say Join Call or navigate the call list hands-free.
• In-call controls for camera toggle, audio mute, and still frame capture with the option to send captured images into the conversation.
• Conversation timeline viewing: text messages, photos, videos, audio, files, locations, and message cards are visible in read-only mode.
• Live annotation viewing: annotations drawn by remote participants appear on the technician's screen in real time.
Important Considerations
The following features are not available on RealWear devices:
• People directory and broadcast feeds.
• Message composition: the message composer is hidden. Technicians cannot send text messages from RealWear.
• Conversation info screen and user profile navigation.
• Search interface on the inbox screen.
• Long-press context menus on conversations and messages.
• Starting new calls from RealWear: technicians can join existing calls only.
• Hotline request actions: the request banner is visible but the Done button and transfer interface are hidden.
• Urgent broadcasts do not appear on RealWear devices.
Use Case
Receiving Remote Guidance During a Hands-Free Repair
Role: Technician
A technician at Iniscope International arrives at a hospital to service an SSI 800 laser system with a faulty cooling assembly. The repair requires both hands to access internal components inside a sealed enclosure. Using Zinc on a RealWear head-mounted display, the technician says Join Call to connect with a remote subject matter expert at the Iniscope service center. The expert draws live annotations on the shared video feed to mark the exact connector to remove. The technician captures a still frame of the exposed component and sends it into the conversation for the expert to confirm the damage. The technician completes the repair without picking up a phone or tablet at any point during the procedure, finishing the repair in one visit and reducing equipment downtime for the hospital.
For a full list of use cases of Zinc, see
Use Cases for Zinc.
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