The firm’s background is discussed including its industrial IoT platform. CEO Jim Heppelmann said that one factor in its success was to PTC’s long-standing focus in shrinking the gap between the digital and physical worlds. Its logo, representing a digital and physical hand coming together, hints at this intersection, which serves as a foundation for its IoT focus.

“PTC started with the digital definition of things through CAD and PLM tools,” reads part of a corporate presentation on the company. It continues: “This digital definition is converted into the physical things around us. Today, those physical things generate digital information that can be captured and analyzed by the IoT.”

The company also has a unique vantage point when it comes to augmented reality, Heppelmann said. “If you really want to do AR, you need to know 3D. That’s our heritage. And you need IoT because you need data about the physical world,” he explained. “And then you need to understand the shape of the physical world.”

Other than ThingWorx, part of the company’s IoT offerings is KEPServerEX, a connectivity platform used in more than 75,000 sites. The software offers support for an array of industrial devices while also offering the ability to convert legacy insecure communication protocols with secure protocols as well as support for SSL and TLS.

In terms of augmented reality, the company recently bolstered its offerings with the Vuforia Expert Capture AR technology. Designed to help industrial companies quickly create training guides and SOP manuals, the Expert Capture system enables a skilled worker to repair or assemble a piece of machinery while documenting every step in the process so others can follow in that expert’s footsteps.

The problem Expert Capture aims to solve is capturing knowledge from industrial veterans. Many industrial sectors are wrestling with an aging workforce. In the United States, the average age of a worker in manufacturing was 44 in 2018. “There’s lots of people retiring,” said Mike Campbell, executive vice president, augmented reality products at PTC. “They’re taking all their tribal knowledge out of the workforce with them. Some of our customers are really in a crisis mode where they’re trying to figure out how do we maintain that knowledge.”

The problem drove PTC to develop the Expert Capture system, which works in three phases. “The first phase is about capturing the expertise. So you basically put a set of digital eyewear on your experts, and then they do their job,” Campbell said. The experts can carry out a task hands-free and common on critical steps. “They’re recording video and taking pictures along the way,” Campbell said. “The second phase is enhancing that expertise.” in this step, after performing a series of physical steps and capturing it via digital eyewear, the worker can fine-tune the structure of the digital materials the Expert Capture system creates. The third step is sharing the expertise of experienced workers with less-experienced employees. After publishing, the instructions are available on a variety of devices.

In terms of digital eyewear, the system supports Microsoft HoloLens as well as the forthcoming HoloLens 2. It also supports the RealWear HMT-1 head-mounted Android computer that can be attached to a hard hat.

Users viewing instructions gathered by the system can use the aforementioned systems as well as access the information on smartphones and tablets. “Some of our customers were saying: ‘Boy, I’d like to just have a piece of documentation.’ So we output to that as well,” Campbell said. No matter what the option, the system can improve the accuracy and speed in which workers perform new or unfamiliar tasks.

One of PTC’s customers, Global Foundries, was able to reduce the time to document standard operating procedures by up to tenfold while curbing employee training time by half by using the Vuforia Expert Capture system in a trial.

The wide support is indicative of PTC’s ethos that prioritizes ecosystems over individual technologies. “There is a broad waterfront of AR capabilities that are required, and we are addressing that entire waterfront with many different options across all of those different vectors,” Campbell said. “That’s why I think people choose PTC because we’ve got all of those options available.”

“To increase profit margins, we need to ship more wafers at lower cost, so we are looked at every part of our process and developed an integrated AI and AR/VR strategy,” said D.P. Prakash, who leads implementation of the augmented/virtual reality project that he claims is a year ahead of his competition.

In early May, GlobalFoundries gave 10 workers AR glasses from Realwear to provide 2D displays of documentation inside the fab. The foundry has identified 30 use cases for the application developed by PTC using its Vuforia platform acquired from Qualcomm in 2015.

“Jobs that used to take two weeks or even two months could now take a couple of days,” said Prakash.

GlobalFoundries  identified four applications for AR, with training the next one slated for deployment, followed by operations. In a proof-of-concept pilot, the foundry determined that AR could slash training time by 30% to 50%.

“Ten headsets is a great start, and we will scale that it will be more than 50 for [accessing] documentation — ordering 200 headsets out of the gate is not a smart solution,” said Arpad Hevizi, chief information officer at GlobalFoundries.

“Once we have the training app, the project will scale to more than 100 headsets because our front-end technicians are under very high demand. The training process is measured in weeks, and they need to be in the clean room, so there is significant turnover that we can reduce.”

Use of headsets for system operators is still in a proof-of-concept stage. If all goes well, GlobalFoundries will deploy hundreds of headsets for them.

RealWear Inc, PTC and Qualcomm mentioned in the article are all AREA members.

Description of Bosch’s CAP

Using augmented reality, Bosch has developed new training methods that can, for example, be used to train workshop employees for complex systems. The training can be carried out on physical or virtual vehicles. Whether it be smartphone, tablet or data glasses, it is possible to use any mobile device and also combine it with others.

This is made possible by the Bosch Common Augmented Reality Platform (CAP): software that brings AR content and applications into the industrial sector. Fed with locally or centrally stored contents, the platform compiles the required data for each specific AR application. This allows different training scenarios to be implemented.

Jury statement on the award

Workshop staff are increasingly having to deal with complex vehicle technologies such as electric vehicles and assistance systems. This flood of knowledge can no longer be faithfully conveyed through conventional training techniques.

The Common Augmented Reality Platform was specially developed for training in the automotive segment and highlights complex correlations and functions in a simple, transparent way. A modern training tool that is neatly executed in didactic terms too, and which is likely to be a feature of any workshop in ten years’ time.

Information reproduced from source article about the winners.

The latest edition of PTC’s bi-annual report explores how augmented reality solutions are being leveraged to reduce tracking time and costs to bridge the worker skill gap.

PTC research finds industrial enterprises are the highest adopters of AR solutions and are seeing dramatic results in driving worker efficiency and quality, while lowering costs.

The report includes actionable insights on use cases and beneficiaries, as well as detailed real-world examples.

The report authors are: Mike Campbell, EVP, Augmented Reality Products Shawn Kelly, VP, Corporate Strategy Jonathan Lang, Lead Principal Business Analyst David Immerman, Business Analyst.

The full report can be downloaded here 

Those threats include concealed weapons, suspicious persons, and even active shooters. SWORD features a camera that allows it to make facial recognition scans, as well as a thermal imaging sensor that can detect explosives and concealed weapons. If a situation escalates, it also boasts the ability to triangulate the location of gunfire.

All of the information is displayed on the Vuzix smart glasses to create a highly mobile and adaptable perimeter solution.

“Vuzix Blade provides a see-through display that not only allows our customers to stay connected with the real world, but also be connected to the digital world to receive critical alerts related to safety threats from our SWORD solution,” said SWORD Founder and CEO Barry Oberholzer.

According to Oberholzer, SWORD has already received more than 88,000 pre-orders, with production expected to begin in earnest in Q3 2019. Vuzix previously integrated Sensory’s TrulyHandsFree voice recognition tech into its M300 smart glasses. More recently, it was one of several device manufacturers that lent support to Qualcomm’s new XR1 chip platform.

The integration will enable robot-assisted processes to achieve a level of complexity and scale that rivals traditional fixed automation, at a lower cost and with never-before-seen flexibility.

“We intend to change the narrative around how robots will impact the logistics industry,” says Seth Patin, CEO of LogistiVIEW. “It’s not about replacing humans.  Rather, robots represent an opportunity to completely rethink automation with a focus on cost-effective and flexible alternatives to expensive fixed assets.

With Fetch technology, LogistiVIEW is expanding its Flexible Automation Platform offerings to replace full conveyor systems with software-defined automation.  In the not-so-distant future, the only steel bolted to the floor will be structural and movement of robots, people, and products will be dynamically orchestrated by AI.  We’re excited to take this significant step forward in that journey with this partnership.”

The objective of the partnership is to allow warehouses to automate in a more flexible way, based on AI-enabled interactions between workers and the robotic solutions used in distribution centers.  For many years, expensive, fixed automation has been the only option for scaling product movement.  Now, LogistiVIEW is connecting workers with robotics through AI to enable enhanced coordination of people, process, and technology. As a result, warehouses will be able to move more product, with greater complexity, to achieved scaled flexible automation.

LogistiVIEW demonstrated its Connected Worker Platform technology at the 10^th annual AWE 2019 conference in Santa Clara, CA.

Read LogisitiVIEW’s AREA member profile here

They announced on Twitter “We are so excited and grateful to entire team, all of our fantastic customers and the many followers who voted for us. Thank you!!”

This was announced during Augmented World Expo held May 29-31 in Santa Clara, California.

Congratulations also go to AREA member RealWear Inc (above) who were voted “Best Headworn Device” for their HMT-1 helmet for use in industrial rugged environments.

Fantastic recognition for teams that work so hard in the enterprise AR industry.  Well done to all!

Read about our members on their profiles: Atheer and RealWear 

AREA member, Atheer Inc, announced during the Augmented World Expo 2019 conference, the availability of new capabilities in its leading AR Management Platform designed to support warranty approval and management processes.

Warranty approval and management processes play a crucial role in many industries but none more so that in the automotive and equipment manufacturing sectors. As these sectors release increasingly complex products at an accelerating velocity, effective warranty approval and management is a major source of cost savings, but also be the source of improved brand integrity, customer experience and loyalty.

“Warranty approval and management is an enormous issue, and cost, for the automotive industry. Automotive manufacturers can spend huge amounts of money annually in warranty costs. If you can reduce that amount by even 1 percent, you are saving millions of dollars across the value chain,” said Salim Murr, who formerly led, in succession, the Technical Service Department, the Warranties Department and the Logistics Department at BMW North America. Salim, who is also a newly-appointed advisor to Atheer, suggested that Augmented Reality can provide a way for the industry to tackle this vital issue.

“By processing warranty claims faster and with more accuracy, dealers can get their customers back into their cars faster while improving their operating margins and manufacturers can achieve significant cost savings in terms of processing costs and inaccurate claims,” he added. “By augmenting the warranty approval and management workflow with inspections, contextual information and real time collaboration Atheer has the power to radically transform this critical aspect of the automotive industry.”

“Our mission is to augment the core business processes of industrial enterprises. The automotive and manufacturing customers that we work with told us that, as the complexity and number of their products has increased, they face challenges with their warranty approval and management processes” said Atheer CEO Amar Dhaliwal. “With the latest release of the Atheer AR platform, warranty approval and management is now a supported use case. The potential for improved efficiency, cost savings, and a better customer experience is very significant. We’re looking forward to debuting this exciting new capability at AWE.”

The visualisation team at the Coventry-based MTC has been made a partner of Microsoft’s Mixed Reality Programme – one of a select group of organisations in Europe to gain the sought-after recognition.

The accolade recognises the MTC’s advanced work in the fields of augmented, mixed and virtual reality, in particular its ability to deliver high-value generating applications in an enterprise environment. It will mean that the MTC will be able to help companies remotely using Microsoft visualisation programmes.

The accolade came after a stringent examination by Microsoft of the MTC’s capabilities and breadth of mixed reality applications, concentrating on client and end-user experiences. The recognition means the MTC will have the opportunity to work with Microsoft on joint projects with companies who can benefit from the technology. They will also work with Microsoft to develop apps for advanced manufacturing and teach other companies how to use Microsoft’s mixed reality programmes.

MTC technology manager David Varela said the partnership was already opening doors.

Read MTC AREA member profile page.

Mixed/Augmented Reality glasses require a high bandwidth to effortlessly transfer the large amount of data that AR/MR requires.  With Verizon’s 5G network, this is finally achievable.

With a 5G network, ThirdEye glasses are able to offload the majority of their workload to the edge of the network due to the increase of bandwidth and reduction of latency. Since a large part of the workload is being handled on the edge, it allows for ThirdEye to decrease the weight and price of their glasses.

With ThirdEye’s Mixed Reality glasses, first responders can view a live drone feed or view other important AR information right in their field of view, all while remaining hands-free.  The glasses also have object recognition capabilities that makes working with unfamiliar objects easier and more engaging.

Read the full article featured on Verizon.