Bakers Find Training Solutions in AR/VR
Baking Business recently posted an article discussing how Augmented and Virtual Reality are promising technologies that can be utilised for training purposes in the baking industry. The different interactive environments of AR and VR are each suitable for specific tasks; for example, in a commercial bakery, AR applications would enable smartphone users to point the camera at equipment and see information such as manuals via a digital interface.
Jack Kilbride, Vice President of Systems and Automation at Zeppelin Systems USA, is quoted to have said that AR and VR will help to bridge the gap between automated systems and the maintenance capabilities of plant personnel. He believes the technologies will become “limitless” as development, deployment, and familiarity increases.
The following use cases for AR and VR in the bakery industry are mentioned:
- Allows for remote training and troubleshooting for companies allowing limited personnel on site (safer during the pandemic)
- Pinpoints real production issues
- Risk-free training for using potentially dangerous machinery
- Speeds up the training process and reduces downtime on production floor
- Customer’s daily production undisturbed by training
- Fast and mobile
- Eliminates language barriers when working with international bakers
- Saves on training costs
- Faster learning where trainees can safely make mistakes without wasting product
- Eliminates distractions
Rademaker USA has greatly benefitted from using AR in its 24/7 service; Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Nick Magistrelli, mentions some of the above advantages in the article. Claire Auffrédou, Marketing and Communications Director at VMI, also expresses how the technology can improve the bakery industry, giving the example of operators using AR to gain spatial awareness and respect safety measures in an automated mixing system during bowl transport.