The Power of AR for Information Delivery

In truth, technicians should be embracing the rise of augmented reality maintenance and repair with open arms. The very concept sounds like a field technician’s dream: Going on-site and having instant access to technical documents, manuals, and online resources all delivered through a simple, visual interface.

The days of digging through dozens of files on your phone, or bringing heavy technical materials to the site are gone. Modern field service relies on quick information delivery; it relies on technicians knowing what they need to do and how they need to do it—all without needing to make multiple trips from the work site.

This used to be a tall order, but today, modern AR software makes it easy. With the right AR platform and content strategy behind you, service providers can build out their capabilities in some interesting new ways:

Access stored technical documents, manuals, and online resources

Integrate overlays to provide visual support, including high-resolution images, charts, or illustrations

Use smart recognition to identify potential problems or out-of-place elements at a glance, speeding up problem resolution

These features build out a technician’s capabilities and help them problem-solve field issues faster and with less effort.

Simply Maintenance and Repair

Naturally, technicians can use enterprise augmented reality to enhance their service workflows and find solutions more easily than ever before.

Scheduled Maintenance

In terms of AR maintenance, these tools provide valuable consistency for a technician’s assessment. Where typical performance checks used to require significant time spent manually assessing each component, service maintenance augmented reality overlays let technicians identify problems at a glance. They can pull up comparison photos of a perfectly-functioning system and compare them to the client’s machinery, or assess checklists of common problems that tend to pop up during scheduled audits.

Best of all, all of this is done entirely on the technician’s device. The entire maintenance auditing cycle can be incorporated into the AR technology to streamline as many functions as possible. From an efficiency standpoint, technicians couldn’t ask for anything more from an augmented reality machine maintenance solution.

Repairs and Troubleshooting

These benefits also apply to the repair process, from initial diagnosis to resolution. In a perfect world, technicians would be able to diagnose issues correctly every time on the first go. But as we all know, our world isn’t perfect, and misdiagnosing of problems is all too common.

This type of error presents compounding problems over time, particularly when technicians start traveling to and from the work site. Every minute spent in transit is a minute that could be spent on a solution—so why not eliminate the need for transit altogether?

This is where AR comes into play. Even if technicians realize that they need information from HQ, they won’t have to go anywhere to find it. All relevant repair data is available through the AR platform. (This depends, of course, on how well your AR content library is built out!) In turn, this insight helps them understand the issues faster, decreasing error rates, eliminating downtime, and cutting operational costs as much as possible.

Streamline Service Delivery and Maintenance

The applications of AR for field service technicians are just getting started. As time goes on, we expect to see these use cases build out further to incorporate even more accessibility, including entirely virtual consultations delivered via app, and even self-service options that let clients troubleshoot on their own.

But regardless of how it’s used, it’s clear that AR-enabled field service expands a provider’s capabilities beyond what most companies currently provide. And from a competitive standpoint, this can translate to big boosts in overall efficiency, profitability, and customer satisfaction.

Read Fieldbit’s member profile here.

David Francis writes:

It is incredibly encouraging how many companies are now embarking on an XR (eXtended Reality) journey. Many have managed to find some internal investment and commitment to do a Proof of Concept (PoC) project to start to understand how these emerging technologies can improve their business.

Whilst some engage with outside help, others decide to embark on the journey themselves. Both are great, in that, the only way to understand and prove that the technology has significant time saving and cost benefits, is to actually do it!

But, by going it alone you may well be introducing technical debt into your organisation. Technical debt describes what happens when software development teams take actions to expedite the delivery of a piece of functionality or a project which will later need to be re-worked. In other words, it’s the result of prioritizing a quick delivery over a perfect solution.

Technical debt is a phrase originally coined by software developer, Ward Cunningham (@WardCunningham). He first used the metaphor to explain to non-technical stakeholders at WyCash why resources needed to be budgeted for refactoring.

Ward said “With borrowed money you can do something sooner than you might otherwise, but then until you pay back that money, you’ll be paying interest. I thought borrowing money was a good idea, I thought that rushing software out the door to get some experience with it was a good idea, but that of course, you would eventually go back and as you learned things about that software you would repay that loan by refactoring the program to reflect your experience as you acquired it.”

Ward didn’t realize at the time, but he had just created a new buzzword in the software community.

As Ward suggested, if technical debt is not repaid, it can accumulate ‘interest’, making it harder to implement changes later on. Technical debt is not necessarily a bad thing, and sometimes (e.g., as a proof-of-concept) technical debt is required to move projects forward. But, you can encounter problems down the road.

For example, by creating a PoC in-house, you rely on the skills of your staff members. If the business restructures, you may find that these resources are no longer available to you; so, who will continue their work, and move it on to the next phase, if they are no longer there?

There are many reasons why you could find yourself in the situation of creating this technical debt. This technology is new, so it is quite possible that there was insufficient up-front definition; often requirements are still being defined during design or development. Agile software development is all about iterations and rapid delivery but often this means that the solution has to be reworked later.

Business pressures, where there is a concern that not doing something will lead to a competitive disadvantage, leads to something being released sooner, before all of the necessary changes are complete. This builds up technical debt comprising those uncompleted changes.

Or, there could be a lack of process or understanding of the desired outcome; where businesses are blind to the concept of technical debt and make decisions without considering the implications.

By reading this, you may now be put off from starting your XR journey; but don’t be. Just make sure that you understand the implications of your decisions before you start.

Some issues that we have encountered with our clients include, not thinking about what will happen when your CAD vendor no longer supports the version of software that you are using. Your processes are absolutely dependent on your 3D CAD and your ability to integrate it in VR/MR but your working solution is now end-of-life.

A solution like our Visualization Pipeline would ensure that this does not happen. At Theorem we work with all of the major CAD vendors to ensure that our software works with the latest versions. This means that getting your 3D content into your visualization software remains consistent. You can upgrade, or even change your CAD supplier, and your path to visualization remains intact.

Another issue that we have encountered is around the hardware. In the last couple of months there must have been 5, 6, or maybe more product announcements from various companies showing the latest head mounted display technologies. How do you know which is the right one to choose? It is really important to have a device agnostic approach. Often companies look like they have the best device which is going to revolutionize the market- look at Meta 2, or Star VR. Both of these no longer exist. By taking an agnostic approach, rather than pinning all your hopes on one device can save you from the headache of being stuck with obsolete and unsupported hardware, that may also still be “brand new”…

Read full original article on the Theorem Blog.

Read Theorem Solutions AREA member profile.

Fueled by advances in artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and computing speed, businesses — from auto to aerospace to retail — are changing the fundamental building blocks of how they operate.

By 2030, machine learning could contribute nearly $16 trillion to the global economy, research shows.

For Mrosik and Siemens, the revolution is well underway. Manufacturing plants increasingly rely on smart machines and interconnected devices to build products cheaper, faster and more efficiently. In August of 2018, Siemens unveiled a new strategy, Vision 2020+, an ambitious plan to revamp the 170-year-old behemoth into a shinier, new, AI-age version of itself, shedding older lines of businesses while investing in technology it believes will allow it to dominate in the digital era.

To see the fourth industrial revolution in action, take a trip to Siemens’ factory in Amberg, Germany. Here, in a facility that has been in production since 1989 — before most people knew  the World Wide Web even existed — the transformation from analog manufacturing to analytics-fueled digital production is unfolding in real time.

The Amberg factory in Bavaria has a particularly complex job — the 100,000-square-foot facility manufactures more than 1,200 different products. This means its production line must change configurations approximately 350 times a day, says Mrosik. In the past, this was a laborious process that required workers to spend time making changes to equipment and machinery by hand.

Now, before anything even hits the line, a computer model creates a digital version of the products, the production line and the manufacturing process itself, helping to streamline and speed up the time it takes to set up new configurations.   Digital twins are explained.

By running a digital dress rehearsal of, say, an engine’s assembly, the company can see where there might be bottlenecks, inefficiencies or unexpected needs, whether for additional materials or safety measures.

The Amberg factory is a microcosm of a much bigger story. What’s happening here is happening across manufacturing floors around the world using digital twins to accelerate product design and manufacturing. Automakers, for example, once had to create physical prototypes to design and test new models; now they can create computerized versions that look and behave like real cars.

Read more in the full article.

Sayduck enables e-commerce companies to develop their digital product portfolio into 3D and allows end consumers to deploy virtual 3D models into the real-world based on the latest Augmented Reality technology.

Since 2018, Sayduck has collaborated with Shopify Inc, a world-leading e-commerce platform that powers more than 800,000 businesses. Sayduck is Shopify’s first AR-partner and the company’s AR- and 3D modeling services are marketed towards Shopify’s client base.

Maria A Grimaldi, CEO of the Bublar Group: “The acquisition of Sayduck is part of our strategy to offer scalable XR technology. Our current subsidiary Vobling has built a strong position as an agency providing the enterprise sector with the latest XR-solutions. Now we can add a proven augmented reality SaaS-platform for the fast growing retail and e-commerce business, transforming their product visualization capabilities.”

Niklas Slotte, CEO of Sayduck, “We are proud to be part of Bublar Group. Together we will strengthen our position as the leading Nordic company within XR technology and can meet the increasing demand from a global market. 3D and Augmented Reality are the next natural steps in the development for both web and mobile commerce. With our platform, we help brands and retailers to easily showcase their products in 3D”.

About 10,000 products in 3D have been created on the Sayduck platform. The the number of daily 3D views via Sayduck has increased from about 500 in 2016 to about 12,500 at the end of 2018. This shows the increasing use of AR by customers who want to AR-visualize the product range for web and mobile.

The Augmented Reality technology within B2B, Enterprise AR, is growing at a rapid pace, with a significant contribution from the retail sector. 100 million consumers are expected to trade with the support of AR online and in stores by 2020, according to Gartner. 25% of global e- and m-commerce will be AR-adapted in 2030 according to Citibank.

Greg Clark visited the Factory 2050 in Sheffield to see how a powerful private sector consortium led by Rolls-Royce and Accenture – and drawn from the aerospace, automotive and pharmaceutical industries – has collaborated with the University of Sheffield AMRC (long standing AREA member) to develop a connected facility that will de-risk investment in the digital technologies at the heart of the UK government’s Industrial Strategy and Made Smarter initiative.

Mr Clark, and the Minister for Business and Industry, Andrew Stephenson, were given a tour of the connected smart factory test bed which included real time data streams from remote machining activities, smart assembly using intelligent work benches and augmented reality, visual inspection linked to artificial intelligence and a reconfigurable factory cell.

The test bed aims to show the significant opportunities of applying digital technologies to manufacturing with 50% productivity benefit, 30% reduction in defects and 50% improved time to market increasingly being demonstrated.

The article features comment on the initiative from the Secretary of State, Greg Clark, Founder and Executive Dean of the AMRC, Professor Keith Ridgway and from The Director of Global Manufacturing at Rolls-Royce Dr Hamid Mughal. Read the full article here.

Read The AMRC’s AREA member profile

Topics mentioned by DuBoff:

XR using manufacturing due to AR and VR tools.

Benefits of XR for immersive training in the workplace

The multitude of purposes XR brings to healthcare, retail and education,

Health and social services

She states that technology is not replacing but enhancing work.  Going forward we must plan data and governance and be mindful of the integrity of experiences such as copyright laws, safety and IP.

Montgomerie writes “It’s a thrill to see how rapidly AR and other technologies are evolving. And it’s just as gratifying to see just how these knowledge-sharing technologies are meeting the business needs in the marketplace.

Just a few years ago, enterprise AR was an emerging technology. But one thing became crystal-clear at AWE this year: AR for the enterprise is no longer a novelty. It’s not just a wild idea to test out in a sandbox. Companies are using AR to solve real business problems. They’re giving their workforce access to critical, specialized knowledge when and where they need it. After seeing impressive use cases, and talking to the enterprise innovators that now use AR for real-world applications — I can safely say: the emerging-tech phase is in the rearview mirror.

We’ve spent a lot of time talking with executives ready to test AR in parts of their business. They’re typically optimistic, but cautious: I get it — but where do I start, and how do I get my team on board?

There are definitely use cases that AR is better suited for than others in an enterprise setting.  In order to ensure you’re choosing the right use case for your organization, here are three mistakes to avoid as you prepare your business for AR adoption:

1) Don’t plan to rewire your entire business. You can’t expect AR to replace a process across your global operations overnight. Start smart. Find a discreet project where you can address a real-world business problem. Ensure it’s a process that can be enhanced by real-time knowledge transfer. And above all, ensure it’s a use case where you can measure and share quantifiable results.

What scenarios might be a good candidate for your business’ first use case? Be sure to consider workflows and teams that would benefit from augmented knowledge like step-by-step instructions, contextual digital overlays, and even live video support from a remote expert. For instance, imagine how impactful on-demand expertise – by way of real-time remote assistance or pre-built guided instructions – could be for a field service team or remote workers managing highly-specialized manufacturing tasks.

2) Avoid complexity and embrace efficiency. From the outset, it’s important to understand where AR will most benefit the people and processes that are the lifeblood of your business. You need to make sure it brings instant expertise and context to the task at-hand. You don’t want to add another layer of process; you want to ensure workers can access knowledge from subject matter experts or resources, wherever they are and whenever they need them.

Some questions to ask along the way:

• What direction or communications do your remote workers need most while they are in their workstream?
• Where can real-time expertise help them complete tasks most efficiently and effectively?
• What tasks in physical space — such as locating repair points, modeling, assembly or QA — could benefit from real-time guidance or visual, intuitive instructions?
• What situations might benefit from live assistance or access to a support recording of the same scenario, versus specialized standalone training?
• What do your senior-staff subject matter experts know that new hires don’t — and can AR-enhanced support, communications or replays help bridge the gap?

3) Don’t lose sight of business realities. At the end of the day, if your first AR use case fails to provide ROI, you might not get a chance to kick off a second one. Ensure you’ve allocated ample budget to complete a project successfully. But don’t burn budget on proprietary hardware or a closed software platform. You likely can build out an initiative with an agnostic AR platform that extends across devices and operating systems your team already uses. Creating a smart budget will help you more quickly achieve ROI.

Beyond planning for cost, you’ll need to navigate another business reality: you’re rarely in it alone. Your AR project will need buy-in from two additional critical sets of stakeholders: your leadership and your IT department. An advocate inside the business can help make the case to leadership for the investment, and ensure they see the hard-cost savings potential in the unprecedented levels of knowledge sharing that AR allows.

Just as critically, however, IT needs to be on board, as early as possible. IT can help you clear hurdles around security, governance or other compliance protocols, like limited-access to intellectual property you might need to share over an AR platform. Approach your AR use case with IT as a full deployment partner, so you’re integrated with the existing systems and infrastructure that knowledge and communications already flow through.

From conversations with business leaders, I know it can seem daunting to get an AR project deployed. With the right use case, you can unlock expertise, share knowledge and add value well beyond the objectives of your initial project. Ready to get started? Download our free eBook, “Building the Perfect AR Use Case” for a step-by-step guide to launching an enterprise AR initiative.

HPC data storage systems rely on parallel file systems to deliver maximum performance and there are two options to choose from: Open source or commercial parallel file systems.

Opinions abound on both, so it’s worth examining what’s hype and what’s real. Jim Donovan explores the following topics:

·         Cost of acquisition – What’s better than free?

·         Confusing customisation with flexibility

·         Elimination of the ‘performance’ gap

Key quotes from the article include:

“Today, the need for high performance data storage infrastructure in commercial enterprise cannot be understated”

 “By the time CIOs factor in the cost of additional staffing requirements to implement and manage an open source parallel file system, there’s quite a price tag associated with the ostensibly ‘free’ purchase”

Today, the need for high performance data storage infrastructure in commercial enterprise cannot be understated. The massive volumes of data generated from emerging technologies such as AI and machine learning is growing exponentially due to the ease of application integration with enterprise business, covering all industries from manufacturing to life sciences.

Fueled by hardware innovations and software-driven services, HPC data storage systems are allowing enterprises to use new technology to achieve greater levels of productivity and operational efficiency than ever before, and it’s the outstanding performance capabilities of parallel file systems that are servicing demand.

Concluding, the author said that when all evidence is considered, enterprise CIOs who want to avoid potential operational and reputational risk of failure will see that the benefits of choosing a commercial parallel file system strongly outweighs the exposure of undertaking the task to finance in-house resources and build the infrastructure required to implement an open source solution.

These smart glasses would incorporate multiple components of Vuzix IP and technology/ecosystem it has built around smart glasses including:

• Custom large field of view (FOV) display engine
• Next generation processor
• Designed around eyeglasses materials and industrial design
• Flexible for multiple sizes and fashion forward models
• Supporting both monocular and binocular viewing systems
• Built around Vuzix smart glasses ecosystem platform supporting development tools, cloud APIs and Vuzix App Store
• Other sensors for AR and UI applications

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have the potential to expedite the building process and minimize risks by allowing project team members and clients to see and feel how a finished product will look, and to identify problems before they become worse. Both VR and AR allow users to digitally experience something before physically erecting or transforming it, which saves both time and money. Emerging technology, however, rarely arrives without accompanying risk. As VR and AR products become more prevalent and accessible to all involved in the construction industry, savvy industry leaders must take steps to shield themselves and their teams from the legal quagmires associated with adopting these tools.

The article is a must for anyone in the construction industry but will also be useful to other readers. Key topics discussed:

Uses for VR and AR in the Construction Industry

Legal risks –  design error liability, safety concerns on and off the construction site, data privacy, and intellectual property concerns. These are all discussed in detail. A flavour of the discussions is as follows:

• While construction industry tailored AR and VR applications are frequently geared towards increasing project safety, careless use of these products may increase the risk of accidents.
• Ultimately, responsibility for preparing and enforcing safety guidelines for the use of AR and VR technology on-site should be allocated by contract. 
• Another exposure companies face when using AR and VR is cybersecurity and vulnerability to hackers. Since confidential or proprietary information may be stored in this technology, a cybersecurity attack on a product’s provider or the user could threaten the security of the user or the customer’s sensitive information. 
• Finally, the ownership, licensing, and use of AR and VR technology are intellectual property issues that must be considered by any business using these products. 

The full article outlining legal risks can be read here.