Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC)

Augmented Reality and Extended Reality at MTC

MTC is helping industry unlock the value of Augmented Reality (AR), Extended Reality (XR) and digital twin technologies by developing, testing and validating practical industrial applications.

Our work focuses on two key areas: advancing immersive technology capabilities and accelerating industrial adoption. We develop XR solutions that enable manufacturers to visualise complex data, interact with digital twins, improve decision-making and enhance operational performance. MTC has created immersive demonstrators that combine real-world manufacturing environments with digital information overlays, allowing users to experience the benefits of AR in realistic industrial settings.

Alongside technology development, MTC helps manufacturers evaluate where AR can deliver genuine value. We support organisations with technology discovery, requirements definition, solution selection, pilot programmes and deployment strategies, helping them navigate a rapidly evolving technology landscape with confidence. Our work includes assessing XR hardware and software platforms, developing implementation methodologies and demonstrating how immersive technologies can support factory design, process optimisation, training, maintenance and operational excellence.

By combining applied research, industrial expertise and hands-on demonstrators, MTC enables manufacturers to move beyond experimentation and achieve successful, scalable adoption of AR and XR technologies.

Challenges We Help Address

• Accelerating adoption of AR and XR within manufacturing environments.
• Reducing the risks associated with selecting and deploying emerging immersive technologies.
• Connecting digital twins, operational data and physical assets through intuitive visualisation.
• Improving workforce capability through immersive training and knowledge transfer.
• Enhancing productivity, decision-making and operational performance through contextual digital information.

Why AR Matters

Manufacturers are under increasing pressure to improve productivity, address skills shortages, capture knowledge from an ageing workforce and make better use of operational data. AR and XR can help bridge the gap between digital information and physical operations, bringing critical insight directly into the working environment. Combined with digital twins, industrial data and advanced visualisation, these technologies can accelerate training, support better decision-making and make complex manufacturing processes easier to understand and adopt. They can also help make manufacturing more engaging and accessible to the next generation, supporting efforts to attract new skills and talent into the sector.