The new release is designed to further empower enterprises with richer reporting and analytics, enhancements to the “See What I See” video call experience and ease of use updates that allow mobile device users to be more productive, more quickly.

The new release also expands the range of supported devices to include the recently-released Vuzix M300XL smart glasses and the Samsung Galaxy S6, S8 and Google Pixel 2XL mobile phones.

Reporting and Analytics Dashboard

A well-designed reporting and analytics dashboard is a vital information management asset for enterprises. In this release, Atheer provides a new dashboard to provide at-a-glance insight into how effectively business processes are being completed and the overall level of workforce engagement with the AR platform. Key metrics tracked by the dashboard include statistics on platform’s top users, number of calls and taskflows completed (a taskflow is a set of work instructions) – as well as the number of messages sent and the average duration of calls.

Screen Sharing for Web Users

In the course of their work, an enterprise employee in the field will often use their mobile device (smartglasses, a smartphone or a tablet) to make a video call to a remote expert or a colleague using Atheer. Typically, the scenario will involve the field employee sharing what they see and then having the remote expert annotate what the field employee sees – or send digital guidance including work instructions or annotated digital phones – to help them carry out their job.

Now, those remote experts can actually share their screens using the Atheer web console and enrich the ways in which they can help field employees. Screen sharing allows remote experts to move from being able to share specific digital assets with field employees to being able to share anything on their screen.

This new feature gives Atheer remote experts the ability to share their web-based screens during video calls with one or more web and device users. Those users can also now use annotations while sharing their screen, allowing more precise and effective collaboration.

Get More Productive, More Quickly

When using AR-enabled mobile devices, particularly smartglasses, starting applications can be tedious and time-consuming. To help enable users to be more productive, more quickly, Atheer introduces a “Kiosk Launcher” option in this release, which allows smartglasses to launch the Atheer app by default without having to navigate to it or go through any other intermediate start-up processes.

This new capability also makes access to the Atheer app more efficient for multiple users on the same device, because it allows the device to boot directly to – and stay in – the Atheer app without any user login.

Greater Device Choice and OS-specific Enhancements

The new Atheer release adds to the list of supported devices. The Atheer platform is now optimized for use on Vuzix M300XL smart glasses and additional mobile devices including the Samsung Galaxy S6, S8 and the Google Pixel 2XL.

In addition, this release includes many other enhancements including the arrival of contextualization on the Atheer iOS app – which allows users to retrieve specific content by scanning QR codes. As well, the new Android version of Atheer now includes the ability to force “over-the-air” updates to ensure users always access the most optimized version of the app based on their organization’s update settings.

As part of a large-scale trial, video mapping projections assist staff when loading sets of components onto pallets. Laser projections indicate the correct position for a part and text, images and video provide information on how to optimally secure and protect the components. The system also notices when a part has been placed incorrectly and helps workers correct this.

The use of augmented reality also helps in other areas. As there is no longer any need to print documents in this process, the CKD centre is saving a large amount of paper.

In the context of the digital transformation of industrial production lines and cyber-physical systems, construction and manufacturing tasks are often executed in parallel.

Here, it has to be guaranteed that the physical world and its digital counterpart are in the same state.  Mobile augmented reality (AR) systems offer high potential for advanced inspection tasks as reality is superimposed digitally with deviations between supplied components and their CAD specifications visible at a glance.

The next section of the piece discusses Visometry.  The VisionLib system from Visometry GmbH combines 3D data with image processing for quality control solutions. Using model-based tracking technologies, CAD data is registered in real time to objects captured in camera images.

The outstanding feature is a reliable object recognition even in low-light and dynamic environments.

Visometry also develops stationary inspection systems for complex in-line production processes, which can be quickly and flexibly adapted to different product configurations. This makes it possible to check, measure and document not only the existence but also the orientation and position of components automatically during operation.

The machine learning techniques of common systems increasingly turn out to be inflexible and of too much effort, because the so-called teaching process must be repeated if changes to the product design or another product variant occur. Disadvantages that do not arise with the VisionLib system.

The article concludes by stating that the technology is currently used and approved in the automotive industry, but has significant application in other manufacturing industries.

Vital Enterprises is a company based at the Runway Innovation Hub in San Francisco. The company was founded in 2013 with the original goal to pursue healthcare applications of the newly emerging Augmented Reality smart glasses technology.

The interview is well worth reading in full for any enterprise already using smart glasses or considering doing so in manufacturing.  First comes a high level overview of Vital Enterprises, then more specific use cases which help us to understand the evolution of smartglasses technology.

They wouldn’t dream of building their own hardware but are focused on AR software.  Better for them if customers are already using smartglasses.  Some of the brands they use are Epson, ODG, Vuzix and RealWear.  RealWear Inc, also an AREA member, according to Eldritch, has a fantastic device built for industrial applications and is 100% voice controlled.

A detailed use case is discussed of a problem presented by an industrial manufacturing enterprise customer, a multinational based in Italy.  They also detail their work with Coca Cola. The article concludes with some thoughts on the new capabilities that the Vital Enterprises team is excited about and the future trends in the field of AR smart glasses.

The new Advanced Welder Training Centre (AWTC) at Regency Campus has 12 augmented reality welding simulators which can provide instant feedback on student performance, maximise safety and enhance the development of welding techniques through multiple practice welding without the need for time-consuming material preparation.

Simulators will assist local welders to become job ready and respond to the increased demand for their skills as part of the Australian government’s $90 billion continuous Naval Shipbuilding Program.

The Naval Shipbuilding College’s Paul Whetstone congratulated TAFE SA for being an innovator of industry-leading technologies.

“The College is a facilitator which helps to align training and educational institutions nationally to the needs of naval shipbuilding industry, so graduates are job-ready,” said  Whetstone.

“We collaborated with TAFE SA and Weld Australia in the analysis of welding and pipe welding requirements, specifically for naval shipbuilding industry requirements.

“The opening of the centre supports our recommendations that welding simulators be incorporated with traditional welding training to speed up the development of welding skills in novice welders,” he said.

The rate at which technology advances within naval ship construction techniques is very rapid, so having people who are experienced and willing to embrace new technologies is a step in the right direction, said Whetstone.

Last year the TAFE SA welding qualification was the first in Australia to be endorsed by the College. The Naval Shipbuilding College was established in 2018 by the Australian Government to identify and support the development of a highly skilled national workforce that will be required to deliver the $90 billion Naval Shipbuilding Enterprise.

“The connectivity, when operating at sea, was remarkable and the hands-free equipment meets our onboard safety standards,” said TT-Lines superintendent Thomas Bus

The simulations were monitored in real-time by technology provider Wärtsilä in Gothenburg and Hamburg. The company reported that using its equipment, ship crew members, field service engineers and shipyard personnel can communicate with shore-based experts anywhere in the world.

Wärtsilä Marine future technologies product manager, seals and bearings Thomas Pauly said: “Regardless of where the equipment is located on the vessel, we can provide rapid troubleshooting and technical advice, thus saving the customer both time and costs. It’s like having a service engineer onboard.”

A further demonstration of the remote guidance service capability in TT-Lines’ office highlighted potential use in dockings and shipyard overhauls.

Wärtsilä announced that it had added AR service capability for its seals and bearings business in August 2018. The use of the technology speeds up the service and repair of stern tube equipment and also enables inspections, alignment measurements, on-site machining, shaft straightening and newbuilding commissioning without having a service engineer on board.

Today’s manufacturers are staying competitive by incorporating augmented reality (AR) technology into the selling process, and they are increasing revenue as a result. Here are three ways that AR can help manufacturers of built-to-order products like industrial equipment make more sales.

Accelerate sales cycles

The sales cycle for built-to-order products is a lengthy process that typically involves multiple rounds of re-configurations and quotes before a deal is made. Any speed bumps along the way can impact the customer’s eagerness to buy and potentially derail a sale altogether.

Manufacturers can accelerate the sales cycle by using AR to provide full-scale digital renditions of built-to-order products that buyers can conjure on their own turf. Product demonstrations that use AR technology give customers a better feel for the product and the impact it will have on their business, faster than ever before.

Sales teams can quickly edit a digital AR experience when customers ask for design updates or re-configurations, speeding what was previously a slower process. Additionally, with shorter cycles, sales teams will have more bandwidth to make additional deals that further increase revenue.

Improve customer engagement

Chances are that buyers of expensive built-to-order industrial products are comparison shopping during their search and may be talking to other providers throughout the sales process. Keeping them engaged with the product they’ve expressed interest in is critical—particularly in the early stages of the buyer’s journey.

AR authoring software allows manufacturers to quickly and easily provide highly personalized demonstrations that not only keep leads warm, but also increases their confidence in making a purchase. In today’s global marketplace, interactive AR experiences are a scalable and affordable option for driving better customer engagement, which leads to more sales.

Differentiate products

Lastly, the use of AR technology can be a unique differentiator for built-to-order product manufacturers in a fiercely competitive market. As buyers navigate what can be an overwhelming purchase journey, they will welcome any leading-edge technology or features that make products stand out.

AR experiences are beneficial to both buyers and sellers, as they make the sales cycle smoother, faster, and more affordable. Customers take notice of brands that are using innovative technology because they know they are also bringing that same passion, focus, and energy to their products. Manufacturers that differentiate themselves with technology like AR get more leads and make more sales as a result.

Previous articles have examined other talks such as by Scope AR another AREA member. Joining the list is Atheer‘s work with Porsche to drive 40 percent faster maintenance using AR assistance. This says a lot according to Atheer’s Amar Dhaliwal at AWE, given that Porsche was already operating at an elite level.

“These are some of the most trained, certified and competent auto technicians in the world,” he said (video below). “It can take ten years to actually become a gold-certified technician. Yet when Porsche rolled out AR, it was able to achieve a 40 percent reduction in service resolution time.”

In fairness, this isn’t a new figure. In fact, Dhaliwal is first to admit that Porsche has already publicized the 40 precent stat, and for good reason. It’s a subtle message that they’re investing in AR so that customers are in good hands. This makes AR part operational and part marketing.

“When somebody’s going into a Porsche dealership they probably came from a Mercedes dealership and going to BMW next,” he said. “Porsche wants to be able to tell customers ‘Not only are you buying the best technology, but we’ll look after you once we’ve sold you the technology.”

This message makes sense because Porsche’s point of deployment for AR is at the dealer level. It’s the dealer-centered technicians that are using AR to fix cars that Porsche owners bring in locally. So AR’s presence and value can be that much more apparent to the end customer.

As for how it achieved that 40 percent, the first step is planning and needs-assessment. AR is only successful when applied in the right places. As we heard from Scope AR, it’s not a silver bullet: It can only be successful when used to solve specific problems in specific job roles.

Here, one important distinction according to Dhaliwal is training versus guidance. AR doesn’t really do much for jobs that require training (repetitive, simple tasks). But it can have lots of impact in jobs that need guidance (complex, non-repetitive tasks). Pinpointing this should be step one.

“We’ll start by saying ‘what is it that you’re trying to do?’” he said. “If they’re trying to do something that sounds better for training, we’ll say ‘we’re not the right partner for you, because deploying this technology to solve this problem will not have the ROI that you’re looking for’.”

The next step is to win over end-users, such as technicians — a lesson we’ve heard over and over. And the name of the game is simplicity. For example, when possible, start with simpler forms of AR such as remote assistance, before graduating to things like pre-authored sequences.

“Industrial workers, the people who are the principle users AR, have very low tolerance for complexity.” said Dhaliwal. “Complexity is your enemy when rolling out to the industrial worker. That’s a fact and I think it’s important in terms of how we design solutions as an industry.”

And the simplicity angle works on many levels. Atheer also owes its success with Porsche to simplifying the business model. In its case, it faced an additional challenge of working with individual dealers, so it created an end-to-end offer where it handles all of the logistics.

“All the glasses come into our office,” said Dhaliwal. “We pre-install the software, set up the users, put in all of the manuals and guidance. We package them up with Porsche’s branding and send them out to the dealers, because Porsche is saying “that’s not what we’re experts in.”

Several of these tactics make enterprise AR success factors extend well beyond the technology itself. It’s about speaking the language, knowing the vertical you’re selling into and PR. That brings us back to the first point: AR can boost, and be boosted by, fundamentals in marketing.

“Act like a marketer,” advises Dhaliwal. “Porsche chose to brand everything as ‘Tech Live Look.’ So everything they do, every press release, every analysts briefing, they talk about the program. Internally, the posters and packaging… when glasses go out… everything is branded.”

The talk can be seen by watching here: Amar Dhaliwal (Atheer) How Porsche Transformed Automotive Dealer Service with AR:

In a press release dated 26 February 2019 an ongoing negotiation was revealed with a US defense group for an order worth approximately SEK 1.5 million. The negotiations have now been completed and XMReality has received an order covering subscriptions for the initial 12-month period. The order allows the customer to use a limited number of licenses within all five business areas of the group’s international operations.

Defense preparedness is today a very high-tech business. Defense industries are quick to adopt the latest advanced technology in their products. This means that the need for qualified service and maintenance of defense materiel is increasing significantly in both Sweden and globally. Costs and training needs in defense-related service and maintenance are constantly growing.

“It is gratifying to see how our software is coming into use in sector after sector. We see great potential in being able to make field service work more efficient in many of the world’s largest companies,” says Johan Castevall, XMReality’s CEO.

The order revenues will be allocated over a 12-month period.

About XMReality Remote Guidance™

XMReality Remote Guidance is an AR-enabled knowledge sharing tool that lets you communicate with someone in a completely different place using speech, gestures, pointers and still images. It includes:

A unique hands-overlay technology that lets you guide someone else’s hands – as if you were there A web portal to manage teams and users and measure usage Integration through client-side open APIs

Read XMReality’s AREA member profile and visit their website.

About 15 days each year, air traffic controllers working inside London Heathrow’s 286-foot control tower experience essentially IFR conditions when low clouds surround the tower cab, often while ground visibility is just fine. ATC delays occur during these conditions because controllers cannot verify whether arrivals and departures have cleared the runway.

The U.K.’s ATC provider, NATS, says those delays can reduce airport capacity by as much as 20 percent. Enter new technology capable of blending Heathrow’s 4K digital equipment with ADS-B and radar systems thanks to data from 20 ultra HD cameras located just beneath the tower cab.

NATS recently agreed to participate in the trial of a new augmented reality technology at the organization’s digital tower laboratory located beneath the current control tower. The tower cab displays during the test will blend all necessary data to create unprecedented situational awareness for controllers.

The testing technology will offer controllers customizable tags for aircraft and vehicles even if those vehicles are hidden by poor visibility or buildings on the airport. The airport’s 4K cameras reportedly provide better visibility around the airport at night than humans are capable of viewing with their eyes.

Sources at Heathrow claim this new augmented reality is already a step up in sophistication from the remote tower facilities already in operation at nearby London City Airport. If the test is successful, NATS hopes to roll out its first live airport test of an augmented reality facility at Singapore’s Changi Airport.