on SAP^® Store.

TeamViewer Frontline Augmented Reality provides a unique AR-based software suite for deskless workers using smart glasses or mobile devices. It can be integrated into SAP’s solutions for various industries, enabling SAP customers to digitalize industrial processes and create workflows for logistics picking, assembly, quality assurance and maintenance as well as field service. Moreover, customers can receive AR-based remote support for precise and reliable troubleshooting through a shared camera stream and context-aware AR annotations.

SAP Endorsed Apps are a category of solutions from SAP’s partner ecosystem that help customers become best-run, intelligent enterprises.

Stefan Krauss, SVP & GM Discrete Industries and Energy & Natural Resources at SAP, explains: “With SAP’s recent launch of industry cloud, we simplify access to innovative vertical solutions – built by SAP and our partners on an open platform. AR-based processes can significantly increase productivity, reduce human errors, and machine downtime and therefore decrease costs. We are looking forward to the partnership with TeamViewer to help accelerate digitalization across industries.”

“SAP is a trusted global brand with a proven track record in providing enterprise software. The listing as an SAP Endorsed App gives us the opportunity to jointly go to market and to offer our leading AR solutions portfolio to SAP’s global customer base with the ambition to further digitalize their value chain,” says Alfredo Patron, EVP Business Development at TeamViewer.

You can watch the full webinar on Using Theorem-XR and HoloLens 2 for Engineering Reviews.

Key highlights

Theorem has also picked out 5 key benefits of using the Microsoft HoloLens 2 in Engineering which appear in full detail on their blog.

Visualize your models at full scale.
Work collaboratively with other engineers.
Make better factory planning decisions.
Work with large datasets using Azure Remote Rendering.
You can still work with colleagues that are using other XR technologies, or none at all.

Key summary points from the interview:

AR/VR is one of those technologies that has numerous benefits in manufacturing environments and Flex began utilizing it before a lot of other players entered the market.

Flex currently uses a variety of immersive technologies across its functions. Augmented and virtual reality are used for applications like Remote Assistance, Work Instructions, Logistics, Design Collaboration, Training, and others.

In addition, Flex uses advanced simulation technologies to not only optimize production systems but also immerse users into virtual manufacturing environments with Digital Twins.

It was a big undertaking to start the journey at Flex, and the biggest achievement in the beginning was executive sponsorship and buy-in.

My role was / is worldwide leader and owner of the technology and strategy. The first use case was remote assistance due to the financial benefits and seemingly simpler development. I say seemingly because we quickly learned it wasn’t so easy.

When we started development, we conducted very large-scale market studies and did a lot of collaboration with vendors and suppliers to understand the best path forward.

Our employees at first had mixed reactions and to this day the biggest pain point is the hardware. But as we continue to improve, we’re seeing that acceptance is growing.

To name a few challenges for AR/VR: Hardware maturity, hardware comfort, field of view, battery life, graphics, processing power and UX/UI.

The software had many challenges, as well, including tracking, localization, overlaying, OCR (optical character recognition), object recognition, IDE (integrated development environment) features, and OS compatibility. There are more, of course, but we consider these to be the major ones.

We overcame some of these challenges, mostly in the software space, and for some we had to desperately and quickly find alternatives, especially in the case of hardware. For instance, our hardware strategy ended up shifting to mobile in the beginning due to the lack of wearable hardware that could deliver what we needed.

It was fun introducing AR/VR to Flex’s customers.

The pandemic has had a huge impact; we have seen groups and teams we would never have imagined wanting to use the technology, each with their own needs and requirements.

Lab by Transport for Wales, a scheme developed by TfW and Alt Labs, sees business innovators from across the Wales and Borders region develop their ideas to improve safety, performance, and customers’ experiences on the railway.

Taking place at 1.30pm on Friday 3 September, the virtual demo day gives the businesses from across Wales and the UK the opportunity to showcase their ideas directly to senior TfW innovation managers and industry leaders. The event is also streamed live on YouTube.

It follows a period of dedicated mentoring by business experts both remotely and at TfW’s state-of-the art facility in Newport.

The five companies pitching to TfW on September 3 are:

Jnction – developing Aubin, a new multi-modal journey planner and passenger assistant app which aims to minimise stress for passengers with autism and hidden disabilities when using public transport.

Quinean – developing a low-code machine learning platform that allows domain experts to deploy digital twins, test hypotheses and optimise outcomes at speed.

RoboK – developing efficient AI-based computer vision solutions to democratise safety in transportation.

Stofl – developing infrastructure and solutions that combine Blockchain and Low-Power-WAN technologies, allowing machines to communicate and solve some of the world’s most pressing problems more efficiently, securely and in locations further afield.

Utility AR – work with innovators in industrial sectors to unlock the potential of Augmented Reality applications which allow the user to interact with the real world while accessing existing databases and software systems.

Find out more information here https://businessnewswales.com/tech-talent-set-to-showcase-innovative-ideas-at-lab-by-tfw/

In connection with this agreement, the companies will jointly pursue customer opportunities aimed at launching new augmented reality (AR) enabled solutions incorporating Ostendo’s AR smart glasses and Inpixon’s award-winning location, computer vision and AR technologies. These solutions will seek to surpass competitors’ benchmarks in terms of size, weight, resolution, cost effectiveness and mobile app integration in order to bring the immersive experiences and extraordinary value of AR to a multitude of industries and use cases.

Read more in the press release

MxD and its industry members are most interested in the development of technologies in the following key cutting-edge domain areas: Physical Process Knowledge and Improvement, Digital Process Knowledge and Improvement, and Cybersecurity. MxD anticipates awarding multiple projects for both the Emerging Technologies in Manufacturing and Cybersecurity Research in Manufacturing for $75,000, not inclusive of the expected cost share.

RFP responses are due on or before
Thursday, September 9, 2021, 5:00 p.m. CT

Note: All project work must be performed in the United States.

Proposals must be submitted by an academic institution. MxD membership is not required for submission but will be required prior to project award. For questions or more information, contact projects@mxdusa.org.

PTC, which employs over 200 people in the UK, has become a tier 2 member at the MTC and, as part of the agreement, will commit to providing the latest augmented reality, industrial internet of things platforms, product lifecycle management and CAD solutions to projects designed to equip OEMs and SMEs with more digital capability.

This means solutions including Vuforia, Thingworx, Windchill and Creo software, will all be available for experts at the Coventry-based centre to use to accelerate product and service innovation, improve operational efficiency, and increase workforce productivity.

It marks the latest step in a six-year relationship that has already seen the two organisations work closely together to deliver VIVAR (Virtual Instruction Inspection and Verification using Augmented Reality).

This focused on an enterprise integrated augmented reality work instruction delivery platform, leveraging PTC’s Vuforia tracking technologies to position contextual assembly, maintenance, repair and training operation instructions.

Dave Hughes, director of pre-sales at PTC, commented: “PTC has a long history of support for the High Value Manufacturing Catapult centres, and we’re delighted to be partnering with the MTC in a bid to strengthen the UK’s digital manufacturing capability.

“Our software solutions can make a real difference to manufacturers as they navigate the digital journey, and it is vital that all parts of the supply chain find new ways where they can adopt Industry 4.0 technologies.”

He continued: “The MTC provides a fantastic proving ground for our solutions, with its reach spanning over 100 OEMs and SMEs. This broad involvement on MTC projects will not only provide the UK with a competitive edge across many industrial sectors, but will also generate real-world feedback that we can use to develop our own technologies.”

Thomas Driscoll, technology manager, digital engineering at the MTC, added: “We have been collaborating with PTC for a number of years, so I’m really pleased to see the relationship reinforced via this membership.

“The link between the physical and digital world is key to so many of our industrial projects and this partnership can only further our ability to deliver innovation to UK manufacturing.”

The organisations are now planning collaboration across the MTC’s Core Research Programmes, thereby increasing access to PTC’s Industry 4.0 technologies for UK manufacturers via the Smart Factory Innovation Hub and other key initiatives.

Original news source can be read here 

Pagoni VR, and a provider of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) based, real-time video broadcasting solutions, today announced the extension of its Virtual Reality software and service agreement with Temple University’s Fox School of Business (“Fox”) for the third year.

.  The foodservice industry is navigating an unprecedented wave of change in the wake of COVID-19, pushing quality assurance front and center. A recent survey of more than 600 foodservice professionals revealed that nearly 90% of food safety managers, operations managers and franchise managers say COVID-19 has made it harder to recruit and retain employees, with almost 40% of respondents unsure if food in their restaurants consistently meets corporate standards1. NSF EyeSucceed is a transformational training modality that uses augmented reality (AR) paired with wearable smartglasses to improve employee training, consistency and operational efficiency, contributing to better experiences for employees and consumers.

NSF EyeSucceed co-founders Tom Chestnut and Jennifer Tong applied their more than 40 years of collective foodservice experience to develop a solution that addresses the growing demand for AR capabilities in the restaurant industry.

“The need for cost-effective smart solutions has been growing for years. Through the pandemic, the food industry is seeking even more ways to leverage new technologies to improve training and efficiency while maintaining quality and consistency,” said Chestnut. “NSF EyeSucceed provides foodservice businesses with a customized suite of applications, helping to keep pace with the rapid hiring and increased consumer demand that has resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The survey also revealed that 51% of quick service restaurant (QSR) brands say AR could make training faster, and 40% say AR could reduce human error.

“Our proof-of-concept testing and implementation in five global markets has proven that NSF EyeSucceed delivers transformational solutions,” said Tong. “We are encouraged by the wide use of applications for this technology to truly transform the foodservice industry–from decreasing the need for in-person visits to vastly improving employee training. For foodservice managers, this means reduced costs while also enhancing food quality and safety for both employees and consumers.”

Wendy’s® is a long-time leader in quality assurance and is focused on continuously evolving its programs to drive industry innovation. The company was among the first to investigate AR and pilot smartglasses using NSF EyeSucceed, initially piloting the technology in 2020.

“Since introducing NSF EyeSucceed to our suite of quality assurance tools, our team at Wendy’s has experienced greater efficiency in our food safety and supplier oversight practices, from product evaluations to audit improvements,” said Jorge Hernandez, Vice President of Quality Assurance at Wendy’s. “This hands-free solution has been especially useful throughout the pandemic, as it’s provided connectivity between sites and deepened supplier relationships, despite travel restrictions around the world. As a result, we’ve seen time and cost savings and positive feedback from our employees and supplier partners. We look forward to completing the pilot program, including testing the smartglasses for employee training and scaling up key learnings.”

Read more here.

The race continues between the world’s largest tech leaders and companies to see which one will prevail and power the next generation of tools, technologies and resources for manufacturing, healthcare, construction and other vertical-market applications. Central to this race are the technological advances that have been made in recent years with artificial intelligence (AI), and immersive mixed-reality technologies such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).

Each of these virtualized technologies show great promise, but enterprises and manufacturers must be made aware of critical points of differentiation in the design, development and hosting strategies to maximize proper usage and deployment.

Topics covered in the piece include:

• Where immersive mixed reality falls short for enterprises
• The need for 3D & AI in immersive mixed reality
• Working in cloud environments is critical

Read the whole article here.