“Police, fire, and emergency medical services crews cannot respond efficiently without proper situational awareness. Up to now, they’ve relied on eyewitness, radio, and traditional communications channels for information,”  a statement from NIST said. “But IoT devices, smart buildings, and smart cities also have the potential to provide tremendous amounts of information that remain largely inaccessible by first responders and incident command officers.” 

The competition is asking engineers and developers to create AR interfaces that can be used on headsets such as the Magic Leap 1 and can integrate IoT data to help first responders make faster and more informed decisions in emergency situations. Entrants are being asked to submit a concept and mock up paper detailing their AR use case. Those that move on will be loaned hardware from Magic Leap and other sponsors to prototype and eventually test their solution at a public safety training center. In total NIST is offering $1,100,000 in prize money. Those that advance from the first phase of the competition will be judged on idea feasibility, potential real-world impact, and the extent to which their solution improves on an available technology or technical outcome.

NIST is highlighting four major scenarios for the competition: a wildfire, active shooter, mass transit accident, and a flood. In the wildfire scenario, developers could create an AR solution that provides firefighter with visualizations related to the speed, intensity, and direction of the fire; forecasting evacuation areas; and indicating where to deploy personnel or drop water and fire retardant.

The scenario mirrors real world use cases that have emerged for AR. Edgybees, an AR software company, lended its technology to first responders who dealt with the devastating 2019-2020 wildfires in Australia as well as the 2018 wildfires in California. Edgybees overlays geo-spatial information over live footage captured by drones to enhance first responders’s situational awareness.

Using Edgybees’s technology, Australian firefighters were able pinpoint and mark the locations of fires, burnt structures, roads, ground teams, and civilians on a shared virtual map.

The CHARIoT Challenge will run concurrently with another from NIST that is tasking IoT engineers with developing a smart city solution that will capture and leverage the type of data that could be used by those in the AR competition.

The submission deadline for the first phase of the augmented reality contest is May 6, 2020. More information is available on the CHARIoT Challenge website.

In just a few short months, we have found ourselves in a new reality. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the day to day lives of millions of people and placed safety at the top of our list of concerns.

Our key purpose at this moment is to support the organizations and front line teams that are risking their lives every day to ensure our well being and safety.

As a result, we stand by to support you with as many licenses as you may need of the Atheer AR platform, at no cost, until the end of June 2020. All licenses, on-boarding, and support will be provided by Atheer for free with no commitment of any type required. 

We hope that by helping you better support your front line teams and  customers, not only are you keeping people safe, but also keeping the economy moving.

Let us know how we can help.

Stay safe.

Regards,

Amar

https://content.atheerair.com/en/atheer-covid-19-response

Wearables are an efficient method of bringing real-time information right within the reach of a worker. The Augumenta SmartAlert wearables app is designed to keep people up-to-date while working on the shop floor or on the field. The app supports smartwatches and all smart AR glasses that are commercially available on the market.

“The impact of technology on work has always been double-sided. Some technologies have eliminated jobs and displaced workers; others have made workers more productive. Making workers more productive and more capable is the promise of wearable technologies.”

Deloitte Insights article, July 2018

The term wearables can be defined as any tech that you wear on you and that allows you to receive and send data. Since this article focuses on our apps we limit this rather wide concept to two types of interactive devices, glasses and watches. In some use cases, a lighter version of the app and a simpler device offer an optional low-barrier route forward. In others, deploying more than one wearable supports the usage of more holistic solutions. So, if the target is to provide people on the shop-floor or the field with accurate, timely data that they truly need, which device type should one choose to use?

Topics covered in the article related to industrial AR include:

• Which to use to stay informed – smart-glasses or smartwatches
• With binocular AR goggles
• SmartAlert app
• Monoculars benefits and drawbacks
• Why choose a smartwatch?

Read the full blog here. 

Read Augumenta’s AREA member profile here 

By combining ThirdEye’s X2 MR Glasses and TROIA’s AR platform, TROIA AR, enterprise organizations within energy, utilities, oil and gas sectors will have access to a suite of applications that prioritize safety and more efficient workflows. Technicians working in the field can expect to see dramatic improvements to the way work orders, job plans and other real-time mission-critical information are delivered, along with improvements in productivity, effectiveness, accuracy and safety. TROIA AR combines innovative technologies and use of AI elements to understand data from integrated IT systems and helps increase work productivity and safety, including EAM, GIS manager, SCADA, IoT, MDM, ERP and other related background systems.

“The safety of technicians that wear our X2 MR Glasses is always our number one priority. We are excited about the advanced capabilities that TROIA AR will bring our customers within energy, utilities, oil and gas industries. This partnership will ensure personnel are safe, while also being as efficient as possible,” said Nick Cherukuri, CEO and Founder of ThirdEye. “We’re excited to be able to fortify our current offerings with TROIA’s AR solutions.”

Through TROIA’s TAGMANAGER application, customers can display real-time measurement data visualization, such as SCADA and IoT sensors, on ThirdEye’s X2 MR Glasses. Technicians will be able to place asset information tables and digital meters into scene environments on-demand, in real-time and within their field of view. This will improve the safety and efficiency of workers.

ThirdEye and TROIA customers have shown excitement about TROIA’s GISMANAGER platform, which can transform the spatial (flat) GIS data into AR data solution, enabling users to visualize assets and topology data in the X2 MR Glasses’ field of view. Full underground utility infrastructure, such as cables, smart meters, switchyards, shafts, water pipes and sewage systems, appear in a user’s field of view and will be digitally present on the AR supported devices with an extended option of adding real time data from SCADA/IoT.

“By combining our knowledge and experience, we’ll be able to change the way companies see and experience augmented reality. Great things in business are never done by one person,” said Matjaž Breznik, AR Sales and Development at TROIA.

Read ThirdEye’s AREA member profile 

Visit ThirdEye’s website

Visit TROIA website 

Over the past week the consortium has been working hard to investigate production of a range of ventilator design options to meet a high-level specification for a Rapidly Manufactured Ventilator System (“RMVS”) developed by clinicians and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (“MHRA”).

The consortium has evaluated all requirements to design, manufacture, assemble and test components, as well as finished medical ventilators.

Companies in the consortium have now received formal orders from the Government in excess of 10,000 units.

The consortium will now accelerate production of an agreed new design, based on existing technologies, which can be assembled from materials and parts in current production.  The device combines existing proven clinical equipment and is the clinicians’ first choice for the RMVS.

The regulator has been involved throughout and we anticipate a straightforward and very prompt regulatory sign off after the final audit.

The consortium is now working at full speed to take the necessary steps in order to increase production of this design. Production will begin this week.

The consortium also includes another producer of medical ventilators and it will provide them with additional manufacturing support and assembly facilities in order to scale up production of a second existing ventilator design which has full regulatory approval.

In response to the NHS’ requirements to treat coronavirus patients, there are a range of other projects aiming to increase ventilator production.

The VentilatorChallengeUK consortium is committed to playing its role in delivering both medical ventilator designs to the required specifications and, in conjunction with these other companies, organisations and groups, aid the delivery of additional ventilators to the NHS. The companies involved have taken many of their people from key company projects to do this and serve the national need.

​Dick Elsy, the HVM Catapult’s chief executive, said:

“This consortium brings together some of the most innovative companies in the world. Every day, their highly-skilled staff collaborate to create solutions that help millions of people, and this project is no different. They are working together with incredible determination and energy to scale up production of much-needed ventilators and combat a virus that is affecting people in many countries. I am confident this consortium has the skills and tools to make a difference and save lives.” 

We are all facing unprecedented challenges in our lives and at work due to the impact of Covid-19. With much of the world being asked to shelter in place, we’re all looking for ways to reinvent how we get the work done to serve our customers, our companies, and all the people who work for them. It’s becoming clear that we will all be increasingly reliant on the tools and technology that keeps businesses connected to its customers and stakeholders. Now more than ever, we’re all in this together, and communication is vital.

As we find new ways to stay connected, I am very optimistic enterprises will find ways to speed innovation and rethink business-as-usual. At Scope AR, we’re committed to helping our customers leverage AR where possible as a tool for keeping essential operations moving forward. Over the past six weeks, we’ve seen that take on many forms such as virtual workforce training, remote expert assistance being used to guide factory equipment repairs and maintenance procedures, as well as the use of intuitive AR work instructions to help manufacturers stick to production timelines as best as possible.  

We will continue to spotlight successful AR deployments and share lessons learned and best practices so that other enterprises have real-world examples of how augmented reality can be used to solve complex business challenges. I recently had a great discussion with Walter Davis at Aggreko. Walter was kind enough to share three takeaways from an AR remote employee training project now underway. 

Aggreko brings power, energy storage, heating & cooling to sites around the world. Their generators help power emergency services, hospitals, and other major events.  Aggreko’s products ensure that manufacturers and construction sites can keep production on track and maintain efficiency. They also work with the utility industry to ensure power keeps flowing to their customers. 

With more than 200 locations of its own worldwide, Aggreko can deploy its equipment to any part of the globe. In their over 50 years in business, they’ve powered everything from massive hurricane recovery sites to global mega-events like the 2012 Olympics in London and FIFA World Cup events.

As the Head of Talent and Learning Technology at Aggreko, Walter is always looking for new ways to build expertise across the company’s workforce deploying Aggreko products — wherever and whenever their customers need them. Given the current limitations to travel, the need for delivering digital training knowledge has gone from a “nice to have” to ‘mission critical’ from an operational standpoint. He’s been a champion at the company for the use of AR to train employees on its 1600 CFM diesel compressor – a massive piece of equipment that weighs 12 tons and is 20 feet long.

Aggreko built an AR training program using the Scope AR WorkLink platform to create a virtual, full-sized model of the compressor. “They can do a full walk-around,” Walter said, noting the experience is an “immersive training on a life-sized, full-scale model of our product.” Employees can get familiar with controls, key features, and components. 

The AR experience also shows how to turn on or decommission the equipment, as well as how to conduct essential maintenance procedures like changing out fuel and oil filters. To deliver the AR experience, they’re using devices their workforce already carries – like smart phones and tablets – so no additional hardware investment is needed. This means training is now available wherever their workers are.  As an added bonus, physical equipment doesn’t have to be taken away from a job site, which is a huge cost savings for Aggreko.

Here are three takeaways Walter said he learned from this initial AR deployment that might resonate with other businesses considering AR as a reliable and scalable way to train and share expert knowledge amongst their workforce:

1. AR reinvents and optimizes an essential process. To train its workers on the 1600 compressor, Aggreko used to fly them to training centers all over the globe to get face-to-face and hands-on training with the equipment. This model is costly and inefficient. AR can bring distance learning to the workforce, not the other way around.
   
2. AR helps unlock tangible ROI. To train in-person, Aggreko has to ship its massive compressors to training centers. In addition to considerable shipping costs, they can’t use that equipment out on a customer site. Walter estimates that they would be saving $500K if AR was used in place of physical products for all current technical programs.

3. Companies can help speed innovation across their business. Walter notes that while the plan was always to scale from the 1600 compressor experience to create training experiences for other pieces of Aggreko equipment, the challenges brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic have definitely accelerated this process. As the company has currently banned all non business-critical in person training and business travel, they are quickly building processes and creating content to distribute worldwide so that employees can continue to receive the training and knowledge they need to deliver an optimal experience to their customers. 

Uncertain times like these spur innovation in using new technologies and how we do our work to keep things moving forward. Just as Aggreko is transforming its workforce training, we undoubtedly will see other businesses figuring out new ways to leverage technology to help navigate these volatile times.

Learn more about Aggreko and the work they’re doing to power business across the globe.

Read Scope AR’s AREA member profile.

Link to original article.

A digital transformation strategy implies that your focus should be about the “digital”.  However, in the 21^st century the human remains absolutely critical to how your business operates.  Therefore, in the world of connected machines, and through the implementation of XR, we need to digital enable our human workforce.

Theorem Solutions have developed a range of 3D CAD and hardware neutral, use-case based apps for XR.  These immersive experiences utilize your existing 3D assets, enabling your teams to perform tasks in the most efficient way possible, reducing costs and providing real measurable benefits.

Visit this link to access the whitepaper how to digitally enhance your workforce.

Read Theorem Solutions AREA member profile.

Remote work has been positioned as an answer to several global issues, including economic inequality and even climate change (a climate-friendly alternative to daily commuting).

Author Emily Friedman shares her thoughts, statistics, use cases and more that she found whilst researching the topic pre-COVID19.

In the article she talks through the specific types of remote work – particularly the future of AR/VR-enabled remote work, which was perhaps one of the earliest recognized use cases for enterprise AR

There are many​ ​terms for this – remote assistance, remote guidance, remote collaboration – but it’s essentially telepresence, using the front-facing camera and microphone in a pair of smart (AR) glasses to share one’s view of a situation with a remotely-located expert, colleague or customer via live audio and point-of-view video.

​​
Many of those early remote support cases revolved around enhancing service efficiency​ ​in the field, where technicians spend their days responding to issues as they arise. With a global shortage of skilled technicians, AR-enhanced remote support or see-what-I-see has allowed less experienced employees to show issues to remotely located veteran techs in real time. This allows remote over-the-shoulder coaching, and has helped increase first-time fix rates, reduce travel costs, decrease downtime, and train new technicians on the job without jeopardizing customer satisfaction.

The ability to share your view and collaborate in a virtual space with people in different locations will transform how many of us work. It’s not just about saving time and money, cutting down on travel, providing better customer service, or remaining productive when practicing social distancing.

Remote working via AR/VR, from collaborating on a design in mixed reality to business meetings in virtual reality, might be the answer to a number of employment issues, including stagnating wages, the rising​ ​cost of living, and the child-care crisis.

The ability to be ‘present’ anywhere will also help us address some of the biggest social issues of our day—like ballooning housing costs and inequality of opportunity by geography.

Today, many people feel like they have to move to cities because that’s where the jobs are. But there isn’t enough housing in many cities, so housing costs are skyrocketing while quality of living is decreasing. Imagine if you could live anywhere you choose and access any job anywhere else.

Women, especially working moms, would greatly benefit from the kind of XR-enabled remote working that Zuckerberg predicts. Friedman explains various issues such as gender pay gap around this, care giving responsibilities, unemployment and other social issues.

In an economy (and society) that devalues care-giving, women do paid labor and a disproportionate amount of unpaid labor within the home. Though not viewed as economic output, this unpaid labor is essential to the overall functioning of the economy.

New realities, however, could break down traditional work requirements and help create a more equal reality by allowing women to work flexibly and hold down good​ ​jobs from home. In an ideal world, remote work technologies would allow women to work for any company in the world from any city in the world.

Employers would benefit, too: Not only are women incredibly valuable to the economy (if every woman in America stopped working for a day, it would cost the GDP over $20 billion) but flexible work arrangements make a company more competitive at a time when skilled labor is in​ ​high demand.

Bill Gates predicted that “companies that give extra flexibility to their employees will have the edge.”

Now, a global pandemic is showing that the technology isn’t really there for office workers and that AR and VR for more everyday work tasks has been largely overlooked.​

Read the article in full.

Read BrainXChange’s AREA member profile

MEDICAL TRAINING – AR DEVICE ASSEMBLY & SET-UP

The challenge was that the assembly of medical devices requires intense training and experience. At the same time Operating Procedures (OP) documentation lacks user-friendly guidance for medical staff and trainees. A quality event can pose significant financial and credibility risks for payers.

Assembly instructions are not user-friendly without visual representation of work steps

Complex operating procedures cause long on-boarding of new operators

Quality System Regulation requires easy-to-follow work instructions for assembly

The solution is simplified AR Training
Take the most crucial parts of your instructions and visualize them with Augmented Reality. Build your own AR-guides with the right mixture of videos, text and images. Make training content available instantly – in the right place, at the right time, on the right device.

Read more on the RE’FLEKT blog and download their whitepaper on Enterprise Training with Augmented Reality

Their solution promises:

90% lower risk of human errors
60% faster training and on-boarding times
40% fewer errors in changeover
25% faster line changeover time

Read more on the RE’FLEKT website and their AREA member page.

As COVID-19 continues to spread across North America, the CDC has suggested that businesses implement remote work policies and travel restrictions to help slow the spread of the virus. The situation has become more troublesome over the past few weeks, and many companies are looking for ways to help limit business disruptions while keeping the health of employees a top priority.

Russell Fadel, CEO of Augmentir, said on LinkedIn, “After hearing about the steps that Zoom, Microsoft, Slack, et al are doing to support remote work for White Collar workers – it became clear to the Augmentir team that we could do the same for manufacturing and service workers who rely on direct support for troubleshooting, maintenance, and repairs.

Augmentir’s Remote Assist software enables this support to be performed virtually, so that travel is eliminated and face-to-face meetings are reduced. Both are key to flattening the curve with respect to COVID-19, and to enabling our manufacturing sector to continue to supply the country with the goods it needs.

We have committed to providing this software free through the end of 2020 so that every industrial company can move to this new way of work, without encountering financial barriers to making the change.”

Therefore, in a response to COVID-19, Augmentir will be offering its Remote Assist tool at no cost through the end of 2020 in an effort to help the many businesses affected by the sudden increase in work-from-home policies and travel restrictions resulting from the global outbreak of the virus. We hope to curb the predicted impact this virus will have on industrial companies and will remain steadfast in our commitment to serving the industry we call home.” 

During this challenging time, video-conferencing, chat, and remote support and collaboration will be more important than ever in maintaining the wellbeing of employees while also enabling people to continue to work and businesses to operate. Augmentir’s Remote Assist tool helps to minimize the negative impact that COVID-19 is having on businesses by providing a remote collaboration and support solution that can be adopted in less than 60 minutes, so that workers, technicians, and customers can get the support they need to do their jobs without compromising health, safety, or productivity.

Companies that sign up will have free use of the tool for the remainder of 2020, and have access to the following features: 

• Stream live video and audio to remote experts to improve issue resolution and remote knowledge sharing
• Guide your field technicians and customers with live annotations for enhanced collaboration
• Support remote users on their existing devices as well as AR-enabled smart glasses

For more information on Augmentir’s Remote Assist, and to sign up for free, please visit the Augmentir website.