Industrial organizations leave millions in potential revenue on the table each year due to production line downtime, defects, and waste. Augmented reality is helping today’s manufacturers become more agile and efficient by empowering frontline workers with on-the-job procedural guidance and more effective training.
Joint activities between the IIC and the AREA will include:
“Augmented Reality has a tremendous potential to help enterprises of all kinds increase productivity, lower costs and improve safety – from manufacturing advances to service efficiencies,” said Wael William Diab, Chair of the IIC Liaison Working Group and Secretary of the IIC Steering Committee. “By working together, our organizations can continue to help accelerate the adoption of the IIoT across many industries.”
“It is vital to the mission of the AREA and the success of its enterprise members to help advance the convergence of the Industrial Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality,” said Mark Sage, Executive Director of the AREA. “Our partnership with the IIC and its Liaison Working Group enables us to strengthen our focus on helping the ecosystem players increase their efficiency and improve their business performance.”
The IIC Liaison Working Group is the gateway for formal relationships with standards and open-source organizations, consortia, alliances, certification and testing bodies and government entities/agencies. The agreement with the AREA is one of a number of agreements made by the IIC’s Liaison Working Group. For a list of current liaisons, click here.
A description of the former, an enterprise AR solution, follows: AR Machine Maintenance is an industrial application that displays AR wayfinding arrows, part and location identification guides in AR and interactive task lists to walk users through required tasks and check off completion.
The interactive AR features locate and display digital information precisely on real objects/machines to reduce errors and time spent on complex tasks.
Additional enhanced features include machine vision confirmation of task completion, such as lock off/tag off procedures for safety, as well as machine vision for calibration of virtual models with live camera views.
AR Machine Maintenance is an industrial application that displays AR wayfinding arrows, part and location identification guides in AR and interactive task lists to walk users through required tasks and check off completion. The interactive AR features locate and display digital information precisely on real objects/machines to reduce errors and time spent on complex tasks. Additional enhanced features include machine vision confirmation of task completion, such as lock off/tag off procedures for safety, as well as machine vision for calibration of virtual models with live camera views.
Read more about Paracosma on their AREA member profile.
Fink writes, “Brainxchange has consolidated its position at the nexus of the growing enterprise XR ecosystem, with the ability to bring together both augmented reality companies and the large enterprises that are now testing and implementing XR solutions.
For EWTS, Brainxchange focused on securing participation from the end user, and achieved a 75-25 ratio of buyers to sellers. They invited process innovation executives from Fortune 1000 companies from all over the world one at a time to share their experiences implementing XR in their workflows.
Michael Gonzalez, Head of Audience Development at BrainXchange told us when he identifies end users that are seriously considering or actively deploying XR, he will go above and beyond to get them to attend, even if that means calling 47 times over two years. As a result, for the first time at an XR conference, buyers outnumbered sellers. Their use cases were front and center, illustrating why enterprise XR is at an inflection point.
The use cases revealed qualities companies look for when bringing new solutions to their specific business process. While spatial computing had its powerful cameo at the show, mundane tasks like VR training, remote experts (see-what-I-see), and work instructions were the stars, though glamorous they are not. The emerging killer apps were again confirmed to be training and simulation, knowledge capture, remote experts, and work instructions.
All aspects of XR are discussed including platforms and hardware such as head mounted displays. A number of AR providers who are also AREA members are mentioned in the article – which also features product visuals, new features and information about new releases.
AREA members featured in the article who attended EWTS 2019 and showcased products include:
Upskill, REFLEK’T, Epson, Scope AR, PTC Vuforia, Qualcomm, Vuzix and RealWear, ThirdEye and Lenovo.
To read the full original article click here – Process Innovation Execs Define XR in Dallas.
The project began in September 2017 and is now concluded.
This recently completed project was funded by the EPRI’s Technology Innovation program (first two years) and in this final year it was supported by members of Program 62-Occupational Health and Safety. In addition, this project received in-kind support of the augmented reality equipment by EPRI’s Program 161 – Information & Communication Technology – John Simmins of Alfred University and Norm McCullough.
Some of the key findings of this report included:
An important caveat with these findings is that the tasks were of rather short duration. As a first of its kind, we have drawn some lessons learned about potential new work. We recommend that that future studies should be done addressing longer tasks. Also, AR technologies are advancing and future studies should reflect those advances. For example, the HoloLens used in this project was 1st gen.
EPRI previously published a literature review on this topic, which was the most downloaded report in 2018 from EPRI Program 62-Occupational Health and Safety. This report is still available at www.epri.com and remains in the public domain.
The title of the report is: Program on Technology Innovation: Augmented Reality—Literature Review of Human Factors Issues in the Electric Power Industry. EPRI, Palo Alto, CA: 2018. 3002012532.
The AREA team and on behalf of all our members would like to congratulate all those involved in the project and for making this available in the public domain.
“Now we can propose to our clients an innovative solution, dedicated to customers and clients working remotely. XMReality allows us to remotely assist our customers regardless of place and time in an easy manner”, says Marco Maroso, Business Development of Aiuto Tecnologico.
“We are happy to start this cooperation with OA Service, enabling us to combine our skills and offerings to improve digital services among our end users, while at the same time accessing the Italian market”, says Johan Castevall, CEO of XMReality.
Fink writes: “This one is fairly straightforward. Instead of solution providers like Upskill, Scope AR, Wikitude, and UbiMAX, developing for one specific device, Qualcomm will help them create solutions for their Snapdragon XR chips, making enterprise solutions much more portable across platforms. On the OEM side, Vuzix, nReal, and RealWear are part of the program.
The Qualcomm XR Enterprise Program allows enterprise solution providers to be part of a global community that offers access to technical support resources, promotional opportunities, co-marketing, joint planning and business development and matchmaking with other members for the collective goal of accelerating the enterprise XR segment to help increase operational efficiencies, worker satisfaction & safety and impact the bottom line. Since Qualcomm is already the common denominator across all head mounted displays (HMDs) including Oculus’ new standalone Quest VR, and enterprise HMDs like HoloLens 2 and Glass Enterprise Edition 2, it makes sense for them to leverage this unique position to support market growth.
Qualcomm promotes virtual collaboration and other applications for its Snapdragon XR technology. “Qualcomm Technologies views the enterprise as a critical segment for growing the overall XR industry and we are committed to furthering adoption by bringing together the best hardware and software solutions providers to meet the respective demands of a business’ function and use cases,” said Brian Vogelsang, senior director of product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “We are excited to be working with companies enabling solutions for the enterprise customer by optimizing performance, productivity and improving accuracy and safety in areas such as field service, maintenance and repair, inspection, assembly, material handling, remote collaboration, data visualization and training.”
“Through the Qualcomm XR Enterprise Program, we’ve received access to hardware prototypes, technology roadmaps, access to new features like eye-tracking and had the opportunity to showcase our technology to enterprise partners,” said Tony Bevilacqua, CEO and founder, Cognitive3D.
The Qualcomm XR Enterprise Program will provide members with Qualcomm Technologies-supported benefits including XR industry insights, connections with end customers, visibility into upcoming Qualcomm Technologies hardware and software product features and the Qualcomm XR Enterprise Program badge to display on their website and promotional material to identify themselves as companies who are helping to drive excellence in quality and adoption of XR in the enterprise.
Companies wishing to participate in the Qualcomm XR Enterprise Program can find more information here.
From the start, Iristick made the choice to tether the Iristick smart glasses to a smartphone. This combines the best of both worlds: powerful, yet comfortable to wear smart glasses, complemented with the fast-evolving processing power of a smartphone.
Linking the Iristick.Z1 to an iPhone gives companies with a strict iOS company policy the benefits of working with smart glasses for remote assistance, work instruction guidance and pick-by-vision. Iristick smart glasses are now fully compatible with both iOS and Android smartphones.
Why are Iristick the first smart glasses to do so?
Until today, no smart glasses device on the market has been compatible with iOS, making the use case for smart glasses in some industries impossible. The Iristick.Z1 smart glasses are tethered to a smartphone for its processing power, weight distribution and battery requirements, opening up a range of possibilities other smart glasses do not have. These advantages were previously only available for Android phones. Moving forward, it will be possible for the entire range of iOS devices to be tethered with smart glasses.
Why is it so hard to make smart glasses compatible with iOS?
“Traditionally, iOS was a closed system that could only work with external hardware by using very intrusive modifications to the iPhone. Iristick does not require any modification to iOS. The new Iristick framework hides all hardware-level complexity and offers software partners a highly transparent software layer. Creating applications for Iristick becomes standard iPhone application development.” Riemer Grootjans, CTO
Is the market waiting for iOS compatible smart glasses?
In some industries, e.g. pharma, life sciences, space and aero, iPhones and the iOS operating system are IT standards. In those industries, IT departments are reluctant to accept non-Apple devices for multiple reasons (security, deployment cost, …).
This makes working with smart glasses impossible for them, since there are no smart glasses on the market that support Apple phones. At the same time, these are industries where remote assistance and work instructions can significantly improve quality and solve compliance issues. Now, these companies no longer have to compromise by introducing non-standard Android devices. The iOS-Iristick combination solves this dilemma.
What applications are ready for this combination of Iristick smart glasses and iOS?
“Proceedix is a digital platform for enterprise work instruction and inspection execution with mobile and wearable technology. Technicians, operators and inspectors execute their workflow with Android, iOS or Windows tablets and phones. The Proceedix app also runs on assisted reality smart glasses like the Iristick.Z1. For the past 2 years we have leveraged the power of the Iristick.Z1 with an Android phone for hands-free guidance of complex workflow execution. We absolutely welcome the new combination with an iOS device for various customers in Aerospace, Pharma and other process industries.” Peter Verstraeten, CEO Proceedix.
ABOUT IRISTICK See Iristick AREA member profile
Founded in 2015, Iristick creates industrial smart safety glasses to support enterprises in their digital transformation. Iristick empowers the deskless operators of the Industry 4.0 future in three domains: remote assistance, digital work instructions and pick-byvision logistics. Iristick smart eyewear is currently being used and tested by customers in maintenance, after-sales support, logistics, shop floor activities, quality control, tele-medicine and education. Iristick, based in Antwerp, Belgium, supports customers globally. Winner of a Red Dot Award, H2020 European Commission Innovation Grant (N°811820) in 2018 and holder of multiple patents. More info: www.iristick.com
ABOUT PROCEEDIX See Proceedix AREA member profile
Proceedix is a platform to manage enterprise procedures, work instructions and inspections in an easy, digital way. We change the way your deskless workers execute work: anytime, anywhere, on smartphones, tablets and smart glasses. With offices in New York, San Francisco and Ghent, Proceedix helps Fortune 500 companies empower deskless workers around the globe. More info: www.proceedix.com
You can read the full Press Release from Iristick here.
This is a great recording of a session on how to get started with improving user adoption of augmented reality. Schlumberger went from “nothing to something almost deployable in less than two weeks with Ubimax and RealWear.”
Key messages from this 18 minute video include:
The video can be watched on the RealWear Inc YouTube channel.
The interview starts with a little background on Itani’s background and how the company started and that the name Atheer means Ether in Arabic.
In 2013 the focus on the company shifted from a B2C to a B2B business model. Itani explained that they did a big market study around the end of 2013/beginning of 2014 and identified that the consumer market will take a long time and needs a lot of marketing and time to mature. We identified urgent needs and ROI in the enterprise and more direct access to revenue.
Our customers now use Augmented Reality in almost every aspect of their work. If you take Porsche, for example, they train their technicians for 4.5 years to get a gold qualification. Still, using our system, they were able to reduce the time to fix a car by 40%. This is because giving the right information at the right time, in the field of view of the user, can significantly improve their efficiency.
Additionally, automotive companies allow their customers to see the inspection that the mechanic does and know the possible solutions. That way the customers are more comfortable with the fix.
Challenges to be address by AR are also covered in the interview as well as the role AR is playing in an increasingly tech world.