The ruggedized HPE Edgeline Converged Edge Systems allow enterprise organizations to run the RemoteSpark holographic remote worker support platform on their own private networks. Enterprise organizations now have the choice to operate this Mixed Reality system in the public cloud or on their own networks, allowing for more flexibility when optimizing remote support processes while taking into account an organization’s data governance policies. 

“Our client’s and prospect’s data can now live in the location defined by their policies without compromising processing speed, network and data bandwidth, or how the product functions,” said Ryan Groom, CTO and Co-Founder of Kognitiv Spark. “This gives them the flexibility to operate their remote support solutions in the cloud or own their own networks leveraging HPE Edgeline Converged Edge Systems. We’re looking forward to the future of our partnership as we move toward larger project deployments.” 

RemoteSpark, designed to help remote workers complete complex maintenance and repair tasks, runs on the Microsoft HoloLens 1 & 2, Surface Hub 2 and Windows 10 PCs with the backend on the Azure Cloud platform, Azure Stack HCI, and HPE Edgeline Converged Edge Systems.

On-premise and edge computing solutions are often sought by organizations operating in data-sensitive industries like aerospace manufacturing, energy, telecommunications, defense and others which have data governance policies requiring data to be processed and stored on their own privately controlled networks.

These policies have been a barrier to the adoption of Mixed Reality technologies in a number of enterprise organizations due to cloud-exclusive requirements of existing solutions. RemoteSpark housed on HPE Edgeline Converged Edge Systems gives organizations the option to deploy remote worker support where they need it while at the same time ensuring ultra-low latency, reducing network costs, and avoiding issues with network connectivity. 

“Partners like Kognitiv Spark and their innovative solutions like RemoteSpark are exactly why HPE created a new product category called HPE Edgeline Converged Edge Systems. Having purpose-built, edge optimized solutions that can run standard platforms like Azure Stack and Azure Stack HCI makes it much easier for our partners to offer their solutions unmodified at the edge”, said Tripp Partain, CTO of HPE Converged Servers, Edge, and IoT Systems.  

The HPE Edgeline combined with RemoteSpark’s secure, low-bandwidth, Mixed Reality communications delivers a new dimension of industrial productivity and fulfils on the promise of industrial Mixed Reality or organizations of all sizes. 

The Enterprise AR Platforms assessment analyzed 8 AR platform players operating today: PTC, Ubimax, RE’FLEKT, Atheer, Upskill, ScopeAR, Librestream, and Fieldbit. Scoring criteria were split across present day (implementation) and forward looking (innovation) criteria. Implementation criteria included customers/partnerships/footprint, platform breadth, device support, user experience options, accessibility, and pricing. Innovation criteria included use case applicability, IoT synergy, cloud connectivity, machine vision capabilities, data visualization capabilities, and transformative technology capabilities.

“The most competitive players in augmented reality platforms today are able to serve a few key use cases, while also allowing flexibility in offering throughout the lifetime of a customer engagement,” says Eric Abbruzzese, Research Director at ABI Research. “Over the past few years, showcasing value to a customer was limited to the pilot phase and small-scale engagements. Today, there is still the need to show upfront ROI potential at this scale, but equally important is an ability to scale up with the customer as they grow in number of users and types of use cases. The most competitive operators are able to span these needs, while adding value through differentiated portfolio offerings.”

PTC takes the top spot for a couple primary reasons: broad and deep AR capabilities are backed up with value-add offerings and impactful enabling technologies. Augmented reality has seen a strong growth in industrial markets, where PTC is already strong and can leverage their existing products like Creo and Windchill to strengthen related aspects of an AR implementation. Ubimax and RE’FLEKT take the second and third spots; Ubimax is a leader in platform breadth and device support allowing for great flexibility and capability for growth, while RE’FLEKT offers a unique approach to content creation and distribution for customers.

This assessment is of course not inclusive of all AR competitors. There are numerous use-case focused players that purposefully limit platform breadth in order to maximize value around a specific use case or application. At the same time, there is increasing desire for AR platforms that can perform in multiple areas. This can include supporting numerous use cases with a single platform, such as remote expertise, training, and data logging, but can also include enabling technologies like machine vision and SLAM tracking, device management, and content creation. These technologies are often differentiators in this space, with companies expanding their portfolio reach and overall value through them.

There are nearly infinite variables involved in a proper augmented reality investment and implementation, all of which can prove to be a potential barrier. With the right enabling platform, these variables and barriers can be minimized, leading to faster and more complete ROI. “Not every customer needs a complete end-to-end solution, and certain aspects of a partner will be relevant based on a customer’s KPIs, examining target use cases, environment, and workflows. A proper understanding of competitive strengths and weaknesses across key areas will help make partnership opportunities clearer and more effective,” concludes Abbruzzese.

These findings are from ABI Research’s Enterprise Augmented Reality Platforms competitive assessment report. This report is part of the company’s Augmented and Virtual Reality research service, which includes research, data, and analyst insights. Competitive Assessment reports offer comprehensive analysis of implementation strategies and innovation to offer unparalleled insight into a company’s performance and standing in comparison to its competitors.

Read PTC’s AREA member profile.

The RELS (Remote Expert Live Support) system uses Atheer’s Augmented Reality management platform and RealWear’s HMT-1 head mounted device to connect Retailer technicians to Volkswagen Group UK Technical Support experts based in Milton Keynes.

Using RELS, technicians can get real-time live support, access technical documents with a few simple voice commands, and improve their skills with just-in-time training. RELS is a vital part of Volkswagen Group’s plan to service the 22 million new electric vehicles it plans to produce over the next 10 years.

RELS deployment began with a select collection of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicle Retailers in 2018 and was further expanded to a group of Volkswagen Passenger Car and Audi Retailers that specialise in electric vehicles.

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles currently use Volkswagen Group UK’s Loan Tool Scheme to deliver the headsets to their Retailers. Using the Loan Tool Scheme, Technical Support Experts can deploy a RELS headset direct to a Retailer via the parts delivery process within 48 hours! Once a RELS call has taken place, the Retailer simply returns the headset using the parts system. Over the coming months, the RELS project will be extended to SEAT & ŠKODA Retailers across the UK.

The introduction of RELS comes at a pivotal moment. In March of 2019, the Volkswagen Group announced plans to launch almost 70 new electric vehicles over the next 10 years – meaning that the projected number of vehicles to be built on the Group’s electric platforms in the next decade will grow to 22 million. The Group’s highly-anticipated new vehicles include the 2019 launched AUDI e-tron, Volkswagen ID.3, ID. CROZZ2, ID. BUZZ ID. VIZZION, as well as the SEAT el-born and the ŠKODA Vision E among others.

Dr. Herbert Diess, CEO of Volkswagen AG, provided a broader context for initiatives like RELS in his recent announcement of Volkswagen’s accelerated introduction of new electric vehicles.

“Volkswagen is seeking to provide individual mobility for millions of people for years to come – individual mobility that is safer, cleaner and fully connected,” he said. “In order to shoulder the investments needed for the electric offensive we must make further improvements in efficiency and performance in all areas.”

How Will RELS Improve The Efficiency Of Aftersales Operations?

The roll-out of electric vehicles represents a generational change for the automotive industry. And Volkswagen Group recognizes the need for an entirely new kind of infrastructure to support 22 million electric vehicles by 2028. This includes everything from redesigned supply chains to a network of fast-charging stations throughout Europe.

These infrastructure changes represent a paradigm shift for aftersales operations.

Volkswagen Group is ready to transform the layout of its service bays to accommodate a new generation of vehicles. The Group is investing in new equipment, procedures, and skills training for its experts and technicians while improving its already high levels of customer service.

RELS supports these changes by providing Volkswagen Group UK Retailer technicians the guidance and real-time support they need for the next generation of electric vehicles. When technicians access the Atheer Augmented Reality Management Platform with RealWear HMT-1 headsets, they become connected workers with instant access to Volkswagen’s knowledge base. The system is intuitive, so anyone can learn to use it just minutes after putting it on.

With the availability of RELS, Volkswagen Group UK electric vehicle experts, based in Milton Keynes, can now provide real-time guidance to connected workers at any Volkswagen or Audi service bay, anywhere in the UK. This will save a tremendous amount of time and money, as experts will no longer need to travel to individual Retailers to complete challenging repairs.

When connected workers use RELS, experts can “see what they see” and respond with appropriate suggestions. This is how RELS will give Retailer technicians the ability to fix new vehicles faster.

Technicians using the Atheer Augmented Reality Platform and RealWear HMT-1 headsets are able to access the right information at the right time. With a few simple voice commands, these connected workers can retrieve technical documents for any vehicle they might encounter, enabling instant knowledge transfer. This way, technicians spend less time searching for paperwork and more time on repairs. Higher efficiency and less time in the shop leads to more customer satisfaction.

How Will Atheer and RealWear Impact Customer Service Within Volkswagen Group UK Retailers?

“We have worked with many teams researching the potential impact of Augmented Reality on their business operations. The Volkswagen Group UK team operating out of Milton Keynes is without a doubt among the best informed, creative, and innovative that we have had the pleasure of working with,” said Amar Dhaliwal, CEO of Atheer. “We are honoured to help Volkswagen Group UK set the bar for customer service of next generation vehicles.”

The team at Volkswagen Group UK is led by Metin Tahsin, Group Technical Support Manager. Metin’s team manages Technical Support and Technical Service Centres, and provides support to all Volkswagen Group UK brands (Audi, Volkswagen, Škoda, SEAT and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles). It delivers both proactive and reactive support to the Volkswagen Group UK’s five brand networks.

Metin measures the performance of Volkswagen Group UK’s business on key performance indicators relating to performance, volume, speed of response and Retailer satisfaction.

“RELS enables our Technical Service Centre to support Volkswagen Group’s innovative new vehicles with industry-leading customer service, reliability and safety,” he said. “We have seen the power of Augmented Reality and believe it will be a major driver to transform the way we service and maintain the millions of new Volkswagen Group vehicles that will hit in the road the next few years. And we value Atheer’s partnership and the power of the Atheer platform in making this a reality.”

According to Atheer advisor Salim Murr – who led, in succession, the Technical Service Department, Warranty Department, and the Logistics Department at BMW of North America’s U.S. Headquarters  – Volkswagen’s forward-thinking approach to Augmented Reality meets a key industry business need.

“The pace of innovation in the automotive industry continues to accelerate and is placing unprecedented pressure on the aftersales operations of Retailers. How do they provide the experience their customers expect while achieving the service margins their business needs? “ he said, “Augmented Reality has the ability to radically and quickly re-orient automotive Retailer service and warranty operations to meet these vital goals.”

The RealWear HMT-1 allows connected workers to access the Atheer platform in a form factor they can wear throughout the day. HMT-1 features an adjustable screen which mimics a 7-inch tablet held at arm’s length. The lightweight HMT-1 headset is totally voice-operated, so Volkswagen Group UK technicians can access the Atheer Augmented Reality Management Platform in any situation, even in noisy service bays, by leveraging the four microphones and advanced algorithms of the HMT-1 to perform noise cancellation prior to voice recognition.

RealWear HMT-1 is drop-proof from a height of 2 meters, and the HMT-1 battery lasts up to 10 hours. This means Volkswagen Group UK technicians can access Atheer’s Augmented Reality Management Platform throughout a full shift without any loss in productivity. Streaming video through the remote guidance features of Atheer’s platform uses more power, but even then a technician can ‘hot swap’ a battery in seconds without losing their place.

“Volkswagen has always been at the forefront of innovation,” said Andy Lowery, CEO of RealWear. “We are proud to partner with Atheer on this milestone initiative to promote Volkswagen’s goals of better customer service and higher-quality aftersales support with HMT-1 and Atheer’s connected worker solutions.”

Initial research focuses on enabling the real-time monitoring of field technicians to ensure their safety and to provide audiovisual assistance to perform asset maintenance, with the hope of adopting lightweight yet robust wearable devices, GlobalData noted.

These features of wearable technology encourage oil and gas companies to adopt helmets, smart glasses, wristbands and other devices that incorporate technologies such as wireless connectivity, artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR).

Ravindra Puranik, oil and gas analyst at GlobalData, said, “Mobility is considered as the main driver and precursor to implementing any wearable technology in the oil and gas industry. Ever since the evolution of digital technologies, companies in the oil and gas sector are using industry-grade smartphones to capture field-level data and exchange information with onshore experts.”

“Instead of handheld smartphones, hands-free devices will increase work efficiency among the frontline workforce. Through different applications, wearable smart devices are expected to bring a paradigm shift in oil and gas field operations,” he added.

Wearable devices are also designed to provide safety to field staff by monitoring the wearer’s health condition, alerting them from exposure to potential hazards and also providing access to live locations of workers to the onshore support team. This, in turn, provides a sense of security among the workers and increases productivity.

“The oil and gas industry is integrating wearable tech with inspection and maintenance technologies to improve data collection and minimise risk to its workforce. Wearable devices in the oil and gas industry are made to withstand extreme temperature variations and resist oil, chemical spills, heavy rain, and dust among other things, making the working environment more secure,” he stated.

GlobalData’s thematic research identifies oil and gas companies, such as BP and Shell, among the leading adopters of wearable technology. In addition to these, several other companies, including Saudi Aramco, Eni, Marathon Petroleum, Chevron, ExxonMobil (AREA member), Baker Hughes, Schlumberger and NOV, have also started to incorporate wearable technology into their operations.

Included in the visual guide is:

• Strategies for closing the skills gap
• How AR fits into the skills gap strategy
• Relevant AR industrial applications
• Using AR to slow the skills drain
• Using AR to amplify current skill
• Using AR to refuel the skills tank
• AR success Snapshots – GSI and BAE Systems

View the PTC resource here

Read PTC’s AREA member profile

Plutomen is the second venture for all promoter directors on board. They are betting big on an upcoming product an AR based remote assistance platform ARMS.

It allows remote intervention in real time to carry out ordinary maintenance procedures or resolve technical failures.

With initial focus on manufacturing and engineering industries, process industries, oil and gas, utilities, renewables and smart cities, we are set to launch our SaaS based product Plutomen ARMS and Plutomen vNotes, AR based virtual sticky notes. It will alter the way service field engineers operate.

Read the full article here.

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 

A high-level version of the model outlines the four stages of enterprise Augmented Reality maturity – Exploring, Deploying, Connecting and Leading – and outlines the activities and technologies used by the enterprise at that stage.

A detailed, in-depth version of the model – and an associated White Paper – is now available for download from the Atheer web site, giving enterprises a comprehensive tool for planning how to evolve from a stage where the organization is just exploring and learning about AR to one in which Augmented Reality provides a true strategic advantage. The model brings together the insights that Atheer has gained from working with enterprise customers across a broad range of industries over the last 7 years.

“Augmented Reality can be transformative and provide significant competitive advantage for enterprises,” said Amar Dhaliwal. “We wanted to articulate not only how to get started, but also how to mature enterprise use of AR to the point where it really does provide a competitive advantage.

Our development of the AR Maturity Model is designed to help organizations understand each of the four distinct stages of AR Maturity – and the clear steps they need to take to move from one stage to the next.”

There are four distinct stages to the AR Maturity Model: Exploring, Deploying, Connecting and Leading. An organization will achieve insight and ROI at each stage of maturity, but will realize the greatest benefit at Level 4 (the Leading stage) when it is truly using AR as a competitive advantage.

The model looks not only at the activities undertaken by the enterprise at each stage of AR maturity, but also at the strategies the organization will need to employ, the technology that is most appropriate to achieve its goals – along with the supporting content, budget and IT support it will need.

Today’s release of the AR Maturity Model builds on work Atheer has undertaken throughout the last year, since its original introduction of the Augmented Reality Management Platform at last year’s AWE EU 2018 – and the subsequent development of an AR Journey Map and an AR RFP template.

Read Atheer’s blog post about it AR Gains a Voice in the C Suite.

You can register to download the AR Maturity Model here:

Read Atheer’s AREA member profile 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.