Among those adopting AR is the world’s largest military contractor, Lockheed Martin Corp., which is working with software developer Scope AR to develop how-to manuals that include animations for assembling spacecraft components. The partners said the collaboration has reduced the time required to interpret assembly instructions by 95 percent, along with an 85 percent reduction in overall training time and a more than 40-percent boost in productivity.

Lockheed Martin first implemented AR technology in 2017 within its space division, which is currently building the NASA’s Orion spacecraft.

Shelley Peterson, Lockheed Martin’s augmented technology project leader, said AR tools are being used to assembled various Orion components, including the skeletal framework of the spacecraft’s titanium heat shield that must withstand re-entry temperatures as high as 5,000 F.

San Francisco-based Scope AR’s tools also have been used for spacecraft components like cable assemblies and instrument panels, as well as the forward bay where the Orion crew seat module is situated. AR technology is used, for example, to develop the work instructions for drilling and torqueing steps, Peterson said.

Peterson also noted in an interview that technologies like Scope AR’s software and Microsoft’s Hololens “mixed reality” tool have helped accelerate the interpretation and presentation of workflow data ranging from assembly, manufacturing, test and maintenance steps. That translates into time savings and reductions in touch labor for the narrow tolerances required for fasteners, transducers, accelerometers and other spacecraft components.

In one example, Peterson said the Lockheed Martin’s space unit has realized a roughly $38 savings per fastener. This for an aerospace manufacturer that buys more than 2 million fasteners a year.

The company said AR allows it to create workflows more rapidly than traditional methods, although Peterson said existing design data can be used to supplement AR-based work instructions. AR software also can be used to add part identifiers or color coding of parts. Assembly steps can then be animated.

Lockheed Martin is developing a reputation as an early adopter of disruptive technologies. Previously, it has invested in a quantum computing center focused on challenges such as using the added computational power to debug millions of lines of mission-critical code.

For its part, Scope AR has gradually developed industrial use cases for its software, starting with training assembly workers and eventually partnering with global manufacturers like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Siemens and Toyota. It claims to be the first AR vendor to develop an “enterprise-class” AR video platform for Microsoft’s Hololens.

CEO Scott Montgomerie said surgical application of AR technology works best, with the Lockheed Martin use case illustrating how a specific project like Orion can benefit from what Montgomerie calls “real-time knowledge transfer.”

That augmented knowledge includes step-by-step instructions, animations in the form of digital overlays and live support from remote experts. “You don’t want to add another layer of process,” Montgomerie explained in a recent blog post. “You want to ensure workers can access knowledge from subject matter experts or resources….”

Read Scope AR’s AREA member profile
Read original Article on EE Times Lockheed Martin embraces AR on the Shop Floor

The automotive industry has experienced more innovation in the last 20 years that in much of the previous 50 – and that pace of that innovation is only likely to accelerate. Since Toyota announced the Prius as the first mass-produced hybrid back in 1997, auto makers across the board embraced innovation at every level.

Powertrain innovation drives change

Hybrids have been joined by mass-produced rechargeable electric cars, as leading car manufacturers raced into a market popularized by Elon Musk’s Telsa range. The company sold close to 100,000 units in the third quarter of 2019, with the vast majority of the sales coming from the popular Model 3 sedan.

Industry giant Volkswagen, meanwhile, has set its sights on having 70 new electric vehicle models by 2028 – and building some 22 million electric cars in in the next decade. The company is also partnering to build out a network of electric car charging stations around Europe.

The drive for an all-in approach to electric vehicles was highlighted in recent research from JP Morgan. “The growth in electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) is climbing and by 2025, EVs and HEVs will account for an estimated 30% of all vehicle sales,” states the report. “Comparatively, in 2016 just under 1 million vehicles or 1% of global auto sales came from plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs).”

Full speed ahead for the connected car

Automotive industry innovation doesn’t stop with major changes in how cars are powered. It also extends to what you can do in your car. In the last decade, we’ve moved to a point where the majority of cars assume that drivers either are – or can easily be – connected. As a result, everything from GPS maps to turn-by-turn directions to entertainment systems that provide support for technologies such as Amazon Alexa, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are all easy and affordable options for the modern car buyer.

In addition, the modern connected car is both generating and consuming large amounts of data – something that will only accelerate with the further development of semi-autonomous and autonomous vehicles. In fact, a Techcrunch report in 2019 suggested that within the next few years Americans could be “generating 1.8 TB of data every year in their vehicles”.

The road ahead is paved with skill shortages

Industries around the world are grappling with the impact of baby boomer workforce retirement – and the auto sector is by no means immune to this trend. While the US Bureau of Labor Statistics suggests that the total number of people employed in this profession will change little in the next 10 years (and decline slightly in total numbers), the fact is that many already in the profession will age out during that time – creating a demand that will need to be met.

And given the increasing complexity and reliability of new vehicles, the skill level of the people that are hired as service technicians will need to grow. Ironically, the growth in popularity of electric vehicles – which are known to be more reliable than traditional internal combustion engines – mean that they may need service less often (or only for more difficult issues).

All of the above points to a need for not only a growth in the number of skilled technicians available in the next 10 years, but also a way to help safely train and support those technicians.

In the next chapter of this book, Atheer will explore how AR can help the auto industry leverage the power of Augmented Reality to meet the many challenges and opportunities it faces. Reserve your copy online.

Read Atheer’s AREA member profile 

Red 6 Aerospace’s software simulates enemies that pilots can fight during live flights. Rather than hooking up users to a closed, indoor system, the simulation works outside and adjusts as the user moves, according to creator Dan Robinson. He argues the invention can stop the Air Force’s dependence on expensive, traditional simulators and adversary air contracts while freeing up its aggressor pilots for missions other than Red Air.

Whereas virtual reality creates an entirely new world around you, augmented reality adds images to your regular surroundings that aren’t there in real life—for instance, showing an aircraft against the actual sky instead of creating both the airplane and the sky.

“We can simulate any near-peer adversary, which we are absolutely unable to do right now,” said Robinson, a former United Kingdom Royal Air Force pilot. “My vision is taking this technology to a point where we should never have to physically put another Red Air adversary, i.e., a real aeroplane, in the sky to provide Red Air again.”

The Air Force is increasingly trying to integrate AR and VR into regimens from maintenance to training to mission planning to operations. It argues airmen learn quickly through digital methods that are more responsive and require fewer traditional resources like instructors and certain equipment.

Air Education and Training Command’s Pilot Training Next initiative is helping spearhead that effort, as is AFWERX, the Air Force’s organization that helps find and foster new technologies, largely from commercial industry. Red 6, which launched in January 2018, holds a Small Business Innovation Research contract with the Air Force and is partnering with Air Combat Command’s Training Support Squadron, the service said. The company also secured $2.4 million in its first round of seed funding earlier this year, according to the Los Angeles Business Journal.

Red 6 demonstrated its AR simulation on the ground in February for the Air Force Test Pilot School, Air Combat Command, Air Force Research Laboratory, AFWERX, AETC, and others, in an aircraft the company built, Robinson said. The event was successful, he said. A second demo is planned for next month.

Robinson said the company has already started vetting its AR in the air. The Air Force, Navy, and Royal Air Force, as well as aerospace companies and investors, are slated to attend the demo, he said.

As the service looks toward AR and VR, the military acknowledges there’s more to learn about the software. In March, an Air Force Institute of Technology study focused on using AR for maintenance pointed out that the technology may need a wireless network connection, that the technology can mildly disorient users, and that simple tasks can become more difficult in the virtual world.

Although AR can be beneficial overall, the study said, the Air Force’s infrastructure security “may hinder full integration.”

The service needs to understand the technology’s expected benefits and implications outside of the limited uses that have already been studied, the report stated. Others in the Air Force expect that the service, driven by younger airmen rising through its ranks, will embrace AR as “digital natives.”

“If the Air Force fully implements VR/AR into its flight training processes, the students could have virtual hands-on experience much earlier in their careers, which could bridge the training-to-experience gap challenge that the Air Force now faces,” the service said in a January release.

The full article in AirForce Mag can be read here.

A number of uses of Augmented Reality in business are discussed in this article with links to videos. Included is a section on examples of AR in Worker Training

Augmented reality examples also increasingly abound in potentially dangerous sectors, where the cost of training engineers can hit overheads hard and regular deployment on site can highly skilled staff at risk.

Jonathan Bridges, Chief Innovation Officer at networking service Exponential-e notes firms utilising AR can give their employees “a full immersive experience that can be used to represent a deep sea dive or a runway, for example. Enabling pilots, engineers, soldiers, and surgeons to get to grips with the key parts of their job in a safe and controlled environment saves companies money, improves skills and reduces the risks associated with training for these dangerous jobs.”

AREA member Lockheed Martin uses AR software in conjunction with the Microsoft HoloLens’s to accelerate workflows and the manufacturing of NASA’s Orion spacecraft.

San Francisco-based software firm Scope AR (another AREA member) develops a host of enterprise augmented reality examples from engine tuning to visualised heads-up displays of workflow charts.

In terms of AR in video communications, hardware and graphics specialists Nvidia have released a software solution for messy video streaming backgrounds. The RTX Greenscreen loads a virtualised image or environment into the background of video stream. It uses AI to track and demarcate the outline of the user’s body so they are placed in front of the virtualised background.

Dmitry Ogievich, CEO of computer vision and augmented reality firm Banuba told us that: “Sometimes the perception of AR in video communications is one that is limited to fun self expression – of which face filters and 3D avatars are second to none – but the truth is how AR solutions are being utilised varies significantly based on the target audience and use case.”

“In enterprise, people tend to seek two main things; comfort and privacy. With an increasingly mobile workforce, it is often desirable to be able to remove any background video and exclusively show the people in focus, eliminating any privacy fears. AR makes this possible no matter your surroundings.”

With the coming onslaught of 5G enabled applications expect to see a host of augmented reality examples come out of the woodwork as both the commercial and industrial sectors find innovative uses.

AR is beginning to have an impact in business contexts, as a wider range of enterprises pilot and adopt AR capabilities. The global market for enterprise AR applications is estimated to reach $14.2 billion by 2022, according to ARtillery Research. In a 2018 HBR-Analytics Services survey, 49 percent of respondents were piloting or had deployed some form of mixed reality in their company workflows, and 68 percent said that mixed reality would play an important role in achieving strategic goals.

AR is currently delivering significant value in areas such as training and simulation, work instructions, remote assistance, inspection and repairs, and knowledge capture.

According to PTC’s 2019 State of Industrial Augmented Reality report, however, pockets of AR innovation are taking place in verticals including consumer packaged goods, retail, architecture and construction, professional services, and education. Here, the tools are enabling new sales and marketing experiences, improving operational efficiency, increasing engineering quality, and creating new products and services.

Four use cases from companies that are deploying AR today:

1. Unilever’s AR use case: Remote assistance and knowledge sharing

Global consumer goods manufacturer Unilever estimates that it will lose some 330 years of collective work and domain experience in just one of its European factories as its aging workforce retires. That loss of expertise in its plants ­– and lack of know-how among newer hires ­– can lead to costly downtime in its facilities.

The company began working with AR training and knowledge solutions provider ScopeAR, exploring ways to reduce that downtime with a live AR support application that allows technicians to collaborate with experts remotely. Users can share their view of a situation with a remote expert, and the AR maps work instructions and expert collaboration directly onto an object or area. Unilever says that it has seen a 50 percent reduction in downtime in facilities where the AR tools are in use, creating a direct ROI of 1,717 percent of the initial investment.

2. Boeing’s AR use case: Wiring an airplane

Historically, engineers would consult 20-foot-long paper diagrams as they did their work.

The wiring of an aircraft has always been a big pain point, both in production and during inspection, according to Paul Davies, a Boeing research & technology engineer. What’s more, it’s a process with no room for error. Historically, engineers would have to consult their 20-foot-long paper diagrams of the complex and detailed wiring requirements as they did their work. Not only was the process inefficient, but it was also almost impossible to do correctly the first time, resulting in significant rewiring work for each plane.

Today, some of those engineers instead put on Microsoft Hololens that display digital 3D writing diagrams directly on KC-46 tankers and 767 freighters they are wiring. Initial studies indicate that the AR approach results in a 90 percent improvement in first-time quality when compared to using two-dimensional information on the airplane, and cut the time required to do the wiring work by 30 percent. That saves millions of dollars per aircraft, the company says.

3. DHL Supply Chain’s AR use case: Better warehouse operations

Smartglasses help personnel locate, scan, sort, and move inventory without handheld scanners.

DHL was one of the first companies to explore AR back in 2014 and has recently expanded its “vision picking program” worldwide. The third-party logistics provider gives warehouse workers smartglasses (currently the latest version of Google Glass Enterprise Edition) which help them locate, scan, sort, and move inventory without using handheld scanners or referencing paper forms.

The integrated heads-up display overlays key parcel information within the company’s logistics hubs, scans barcodes, and relays instructions in real time. Workers using the glasses are 15 percent more productive, according to DHL. DHL has been progressively rolling them out to more of its warehouses around the world during the last few years, most recently expanding use to its internal express hubs in Brussels and Los Angeles, with plans to roll them out at airports in New York, Cincinnati, and Chicago. Looking ahead, DHL Supply Chain COO and CIO Markus Voss said the glasses could eventually be upgraded with object recognition.

4. Lowe’s AR use case: Making DIY less painful

Home improvement retailer Lowe’s has focused on one particular statistic that could be the key to its continued growth: 32 percent of home improvement projects are abandoned before they even start. That amounts to some $70 billion. In fact, it’s one of the problems the company’s Lowe’s Innovation Labs has dedicated itself to solving – and AR has proven a particularly valuable tool in developing new solutions. Lowe’s Vision Navigation app overlays turn-by-turn digital directions, enabling customers to navigate its stores more efficiently. Customers shopping for two or more items were able to find products two times faster than with self-navigation, and the AR app also help associates (particularly new ones) do the same.

Industrial organizations leave millions in potential revenue on the table each year due to production line downtime, defects, and waste. Augmented reality is helping today’s manufacturers become more agile and efficient by empowering frontline workers with on-the-job procedural guidance and more effective training.

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Korry Kobel, director of engineering at JLG Industries, discussed the benefits of incorporating AR technology into the service technician field while speaking at the Access, Lifts and Handlers (ALH) Conference & Awards on September 12-13, 2019, in San Diego.

Augmented or “mixed reality” technology has been gathering pace across a multitude of industries for its ability to overlay digital information to the human field of view in real time. Kobel believes equipment service technicians could really benefit from using this technology, as well.  ­

With the adoption of AR, construction equipment service technicians could have the opportunity to optimize their service workflows, and they would have the tools to attract a new generation of service technicians.

Optimizing Service Workflows

Historically, service technicians have had to search through manuals upon manuals to find the information they needed. This could be a lengthy process if the technicians didn’t already have an idea of where to quickly find that information.

With time, service technicians were then able to transfer that information to desktops. The adoption of desktops was useful, but service technicians couldn’t carry their desktops everywhere they went. It wasn’t until the laptop and smartphone that they could easily access and reference information wherever they needed.

But now, it can go a step even further. With AR, service technicians would be able to hold up their smartphone or device to see the information displayed right in front of them as an overlay. All they would need is a camera and the software to run the technology.

For example, AR could help technicians quickly execute field repairs. A technician would be able to go up to a machine, hold his phone in front of it and see instructions, data or other valuable information displayed right on the screen.

Kobel explained that sometimes technicians go into environments that are loud and chaotic. AR would help simplify that, and allow the technician to do his or her job without the added distractions.

“Augmented reality is that tool that can help cut through the noise and chaos,” Kobel said.

The ability to simplify their workspace with AR would optimize service workflows and allow technicians to resolve technical issues more efficiently than ever before.

 Attracting a New Generation

The equipment industry is having more and more challenges finding service technicians, Kobel pointed out. He recalled a poll which said that 64% of Millennials wouldn’t work in the industry even if they were paid more that $100,000 a year.

Kobel attributed this to what he called the “expectation of education.” More Millennials have and are getting four-year degrees than past generations. This means that over time the industry has seen a decline in service technicians as more workers are seeking higher education.

There is a likelihood that Generation Z will follow with the same expectation of education, and possibly even more so. Those in Generation Z have grown up with information always at their fingertips, said Kobel. Their expectations of learning are simply much higher, yet he remains optimistic.

“The good news is that over a third of the generation is willing to work in this industry,” he said. “So, I don’t think it’s as bleak as the poll shows.

Kobel explained that adopting AR technology could help attract this new generation of technicians because it would give them what they already expect—which is instant access to information.

AR would modernize the industry, and it would also help the new generation of technicians enter the field much faster. It would serve as a highly detailed visual training tool that would allow new technicians to view and learn specific equipment details. The on-the-spot training would cut loss of productivity and would help new technicians enter the industry with ease.

For Kobel, there is no doubt that adopting AR into the equipment industry would play a significant role in changing how technicians do their work in a positive way. It would help them access information and resolve technical issues much faster. It would also help the industry attract a new generation of workers by meeting their growing expectations of technology.

Wearable technologies are all the rage in the warehouse these days, with workers being accessorized with everything from smart glasses to smart watches and even wrist-strapped barcode scanners that promise to increase intelligence and productivity. But, one wearable that warrants a closer look in the coming months is the “heads-up display” or HUD.

Heads-up displays were first used by military fighter jet pilots who needed to be able to see data related to their aircrafts with the head positioned “up” and looking forward, instead of angled down looking at lower instruments. But the military isn’t the only one taking advantage of HUD technologies today.

Auto manufacturers are now integrating windshield-projected heads-up displays as both standard and optional features in certain models to help keep drivers’ eyes on the road in the digital age, and HUDs are being sold by third parties as standalone devices, much like GPS devices were in their early days.

However, the mounted heads-up displays described in these two scenarios are a bit different than the type of HUD technology that other manufacturers and their supply chain partners are setting their sights on right now.

This article focuses on an interview between Zebra’s in-house expert Todd Boone to paint a picture of how heads-up display technologies could be used in your factory, warehouse or distribution center and what they will likely look like.

Questions and topics covered in detail in the interview:

With the proliferation of mobile devices these days, why would warehouse or factory workers need a heads-up display? Can’t they access all the data need on their mobile computer, scanner or tablet, depending on their job?

Other issues covered in detail in this blog post include considerations for workers who wear prescription glasses, issues of comfort, weight, ruggedness and issues for adoption.

The full interview with all the questions answered can be read here.

By way of this policy CMA CGM says that it has reaffirmed its commitment to safeguard the environment and lead the industry’s energy transition. A clean energy, as compared to traditional heavy fuel oil LNG helps to reduce:

• emissions of sulphur oxides and fine particles by 99%
• nitrogen oxides emissions by up to 85%
• carbon dioxide emissions by around 20%

The nine new builds will feature a state-of-the-art bridge design, the world’s first to deliver major innovations to assist the Captain and crew:

• a tactical display offering enhanced map views for more dynamic navigation briefings
• a path prediction system optimised to display the ship’s predicted position in the next three minutes
• a smart eye system projecting a bird’s-eye view of the ship’s surrounding area via augmented reality screens offering the crew precise information on the ship’s rate of rotation, distance from the wharf and transverse speeds.

The first vessel in this new class of 23,000-TEU LNG-powered containerships, the CMA CGM Jacques Saade will also be equipped with a smart system to manage ventilation for the reefer containers carried in the hold.

During the launch event, Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the CMA CGM Group, made what must have been an emotional speech for him, saying:

“With the launching of the first 23,000-TEU ship powered by Liquefied Natural Gas, we demonstrate that energy transition can be effectively successful in our industry if all the players work together. It paves the way to a global shipping approach where economic growth and competitiveness can coexist with sustainability and the fight against climate change.”

Read the full article revealing all the details and new technology on board.

A description of the former, an enterprise AR solution, follows: AR Machine Maintenance is an industrial application that displays AR wayfinding arrows, part and location identification guides in AR and interactive task lists to walk users through required tasks and check off completion.

The interactive AR features locate and display digital information precisely on real objects/machines to reduce errors and time spent on complex tasks.

Additional enhanced features include machine vision confirmation of task completion, such as lock off/tag off procedures for safety, as well as machine vision for calibration of virtual models with live camera views.

AR Machine Maintenance is an industrial application that displays AR wayfinding arrows, part and location identification guides in AR and interactive task lists to walk users through required tasks and check off completion. The interactive AR features locate and display digital information precisely on real objects/machines to reduce errors and time spent on complex tasks. Additional enhanced features include machine vision confirmation of task completion, such as lock off/tag off procedures for safety, as well as machine vision for calibration of virtual models with live camera views.

Read more about Paracosma on their AREA member profile.