Being a huge and relatively old industry, oil and gas corporations are prime for disruption from new technologies. AR and VR have already seen application in other sectors and there are a number of ways that they could revolutionise oil and gas. So here are 5 ways that AR and VR are going to change the oil and gas industry.

There is a lot of detail in this article and whilst AR and VR are somewhat mixed in together (which can often be the case for enterprises adopting new and emerging technologies), there is a neat summary infographic toward the bottom.

In summary, the key points for how AR will be used in the oil and gas industries are as follows:

1. Risk assessment – AR will provide real time information about the rig’s machinery for engineers.
2. Maintenance – AR will give engineers a live feed of the maintenance needs of their machinery.
3. Training – AR can provide real time tutorials and help while in the field
4. R&D – AR will allow designers to create and perfect their rig designs
5. Carbon footprint – both VR and AR will cut down on the overall travel a firm’s employees need to do and can even be used to optimise the efficiency of older rigs allowing them to run for longer.

The Bristol VR Lab will enable small businesses and individual content creators to pool their collective skills and knowledge with researchers working on complex computer visualisation and VR molecular modelling to develop future products and services which will make the ones in Spielberg’s latest fantasy movie Ready Player One a reality.

A haptic chair that sends infrasonic vibrations through the body as you experience sound and motion in VR, developed by Dr Nick Inoue, to 360-degree 3D virtual tours founded by graduate Rachel Godfrey that aims to help people with autism break down perceptual and societal barriers are just two examples of the types of immersive technologies the Bristol VR Lab is creating.

Tim Bowles, West of England Mayor, said: “The Bristol VR Lab is a fantastic new facility for businesses and education providers in Bristol and the West of England. It will generate jobs, improve skills and accelerate business growth for creative content and technology companies. It will enable the early adoption of new immersive technologies and this will positively impact multiple sectors in our region. The West of England is already firmly established as one of the most significant and innovative digital tech centres in the world. The new VR Lab, along with the many other exciting tech innovations such as our 5G test-bed, will ensure our region continues to lead the way for years to come.”

Professor Nishan Canagarajah, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research at the University of Bristol, added: “We are proud to be a founding partner of the Bristol VR Lab and look forward to collaborating with partners in the region to create a centre of excellence in VR and AR research and enterprise. It further cements our links with the creative tech ecosystem in Bristol, building on our work with Watershed through the Pervasive Media Studio and promoting enterprise through Engine Shed, and the development of the new Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus.”

The Bristol VR Lab is funded by £295,000 from the West of England Combined Authority and Local Enterprise Partnership. The award follows the news by the Government to establish a 5G test-bed in Bristol, which will drive forward new 5G business opportunities for the region and UK.

The official opening of the Bristol VR Lab follows a soft launch incubation period whereby 20 start-ups, supported by global giants including the BBC, Airbus and Microsoft, established a central hub in the city’s Leadworks building in Anchor Square.

The Lab’s aims are:

• To provide a focal point and convene knowledge around VR/AR;
• To accelerate commercial development by providing access to skills, resources and a supportive community network;
• To provide a common ground where academia and industry can co-design innovation, catalysing new insight and research activity;
• To highlight the cluster strength and position Bristol as a centre of excellence of VR/AR at both national and international level.

The full press release can be read on the University of Bristol’s website.

ThingWorx Studio is the AR platform under the ThingWorx portfolio. With ThingWorx Studio, users can leverage the richness of 3D and the insights from IoT to deliver compelling augmented reality experiences that help improve efficiencies, build better products and enable safer, more productive workers. In India, this has been adopted by the following companies

• ARizon Systems, a startup focusing on applications of Augmented Reality in manufacturing. It is an initiative to help the production industry to optimize their performance using the cutting edge technologies in the space of Augmented Reality (AR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
• Grind Master Machines is an emerging global player in superfinishing machines manufacturing. They are a pioneer in manufacturing customized metal finishing, deburring & robotic automation machines.

To find out more about PTC, read their member profile.

Key points from the article:

• More industries are adopting AR – industries like telecommunication, manufacturing, energy where the workforce is scattered to remote areas are already using AR extensively for communication, training etc.
• Healthcare and teaching are also leveraging AR capabilities. Healthcare companies are developing AR tools that can be used in the operating room and on the other hand by bringing the virtual elements to the real world, teachers are making a more immersive experience for students a reality.
• Brands will go for AR- with IKEA cited as an example and mobile sales will become important
• Scale – AR is going mainstream with hosts of startups entering the field to make it affordable for the masses. uSens, a California based computer vision startup, showcased technology in CES 2018 that will allow AR apps to run on not only your Iphone X but also on a cheap $100 Android phone. It raised $26 million in funding from a group of investors to push AR to the general public.
• A recent report by Digi- Capital suggests that AR will be worth a staggering $108 billion by 2021. 2018 is a breakthrough year for AR. It has reached a tipping point where it is looking to explode into homes and the high street.

The full article and infographic can be seen here.

Corporations worldwide looking to introduce innovative solutions now have an augmented reality-focused CoE as a resource to address corporate pain points. “Since Unity’s inception, our mission has been to democratize development, solve hard problems and enable success. We’re excited to partner with Appearition because the company shares our passion through its dedication to the development of augmented reality solutions,” said Hubert Larenaudie, President APAC, Unity Technologies. “We hope corporations that are tackling issues with digital transformation benefit from the solutions and support from partners like Appearition who are using Unity’s technology to enable the success of enterprises.”

The Unity CoE highlights the enterprise demand and growth of augmented reality solutions and the move towards digital transformation. The partnership is a significant step forward for both companies enabling corporate digital transformation and fostering an ecosystem to encourage knowledge sharing of best practices. “Appearition’s mission is to enable the success of others, a mission that we gladly share with Unity. We pride ourselves on building innovative products to help enterprises succeed,” said Vivek Aiyer, Founder and CEO of Appearition.

“Appearition is delighted to partner with Unity to launch the first-ever Center of Excellence in Australia. With our global presence, we are excited to continue to deliver end-to-end-deployment through the entire business technology lifecycle.”

The full press release can be read here and Appearition’s member profile can be read here.

A fundamental transition in the fundraising market towards AR from VR, as well as the very early-stage dynamics of mobile AR, is driving an acceleration of fundraising trends we anticipated at the start of the year.  As expected in a transitional year, overall deal volumes declined slightly in the short-term as VCs and corporates look to medium-term mobile AR and long-term smartglasses growth.

The investment dollar figures for the last 12 months and first quarter are impressive, but digging beneath the surface reveals what is really going on. As has become more expected in early-stage tech markets, mega-rounds take the lion’s share of dollars invested. In the last 12 months Magic Leap raised nearly $1 billion ($502 million in Q4 2017 and $461 million in Q1 2018), Improbable raised $502 million, Niantic raised $200 million, and Unity did another big round.

While the five largest deals took half the money, smaller companies have been quietly augmenting their coffers. The pun is intentional, as the trend at the start of the year has been for investors to favor AR across many of the 28 AR/VR investment sectors. In contrast, VR startups have found the fundraising environment more challenging.

By investment sector, AR/VR tech took one-third of investment dollars, followed by smartglasses at a similar scale. AR/VR games, navigation, medical, social, photo/video and peripherals were also significant. Smaller sectors by funds raised were AR/VR lifestyle, location-based, entertainment, enterprise, VR headset, education, advertising/marketing, music, solutions/services, health/fitness, business, video, utilities, news, ecommerce, travel/transport, art/design and sports.

In augmented reality technology, both virtual reality and the real world are combined together thus enriching the real world with digital information. Owing to its increased benefits augmented reality is being adopted in various sectors such as manufacturing, healthcare, education, retail, etc. Use of augmented reality technology helps in saving a lot of time and increases the product and work quality.

Although, there are several benefits offered by augmented reality technology there are some factors that are limiting the market growth. The cost of the software and devices that are used in this technology are high which restricts its implementation by the small and the medium enterprises. Insufficient knowledge about the technology limits its adoption.

Browse the full “AR in Enterprise Market by Component (Hardware and Software); by Display Device (Head-Mounted Display, Smart Glass, and Head-up Display); by Enterprise Size (SME’s and Large Enterprise); by Application (Automotive, Aerospace and Defense, Medical, Gaming, and Retail)- Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 2025”. Market report link.

Research analysts concluded that, even though the automotive sector contributed the major market share but an increasing adoption of the technology will be seen in the retail sector. Big brands have already adopted the AR solutions. By using AR solutions the retailers are impressing their customers with dynamic 3D images while remaining in reality. Owing to which the customers are able to see their products and engage with it in a new way.

The global AR in enterprise market is segmented on the basis of the component, display device, enterprise size, application, and the geographical regions.

According to Breaking Defense, the U.S. Army is developing a helmet-mounted system designed to project important data onto a soldier’s field of view. The augmented reality concept is based on the heads-up display used on fighter planes. Introduced in the late 1970s, HUDs project key information such as speed, altitude, heading, radar mode, and available weapons onto a fighter pilot’s field of view, allowing the pilot to keep his or her eyes on the skies.

The Army wants HUD 3.0 to work similarly, keeping track of a soldier’s location, the location of friendlies, and other key information. The system would do away with the need for soldiers to use a map to figure out a unit’s location, requiring compasses to determine direction. Speeding up the information-gathering process would allow soldiers to proceed to the next stage—making plans and carrying them out—faster than the enemy.

A previous Army project, HUD 1.0, is already in service. HUD 1.0 is the Enhanced Night Vision Google III, a weapon-mounted thermal sight that projects the weapon’s field of view—as well as the aiming point for a M4 carbine—onto a helmet-mounted monocle. Using HUD 1.0, soldiers can fire from behind cover without exposing themselves to enemy fire. Breaking Defense reports the service is skipping 2.0 due to the sheer technological leap that 3.0 provides.

Army engineers are partnering with an “unnamed industry partner” to develop HUD 3.0 at a rapid pace. One of the biggest potential problems is bombarding soldiers with too much data, crowding their field of vision with useless information. Another is making the helmet mounted displays “soldier proof,” or tough enough withstand the rigors of field use.

AR headsets with smart goggles provide on-site technicians with wireless connection directly to headquarters staff or to the most skilled experts thousands of miles away, who can guide the on-site staff through the tasks they perform via audio and video.

Analysts expect technological advances to play an increasingly important part in the continued cost cuts for oil—an industry that has already slashed costs across the board to survive and reposition itself to profit at low oil prices.

According to ABI Research, the AR revenue for the energy and utilities sector will be US $18b market in 2022, with platform and licensing, as well as smart glasses hardware, comprising the majority of that market, according to ABI Research.

This year alone, the energy and utilities industries will account for 17 percent of global smart glasses shipments.

“AR enables better visualization of underground assets, pipelines in concrete, or complex components, which help avoid breaks while digging, detect dangerous leaks, and reduce accidents. Accordingly, employee safety will be maintained along with a decline in errors and total downtime,” Marina Lu, Senior Analyst at ABI Research, says.

For an oil industry recovering from the oil price crash, cutting downtime and costs and boosting efficiency is the new normal at oil prices half their level compared to 2014.

So, companies have jumped on the ‘digital disruption’ bandwagon and some are already using smart goggles and wearables to reduce downtime and increase safety.

For example, Baker Hughes, now part of GE, has been using the VRMedia Srl Smart Helmet.  Recently, Baker Hughes has replaced parts of a turbine at a petrochemical plant in Malaysia in five days and no travel expenses as one on-site technician was guided by specialized U.S. engineers supervising the work remotely from a Baker Hughes site in California. The replacement of the parts would have otherwise involved at least 10 days of halted operations at the plant and US$50,000 to fly the American team, Bloomberg reports.

Cutting the downtime saves millions of dollars to oil companies.

According to Deloitte, a 100,000-bpd refinery losing a single day of operations could reduce revenues by more than US$5.5 million and cut profit by US$1.4 million.

Oil and gas facilities shut for 27 days each year on average, Bloomberg quoted industry analyst Kimberlite International Oilfield Research as saying.

Remote AR is not the cure-all wonder tech because it needs reliable wireless networks which oil rigs in the wilderness often lack, and because headsets need to meet strict safety standards to be used close to hazardous materials.

But some of the biggest oil firms are already using some kind of AR or VR or wearables to increase safety and efficiency and cut costs.

• Eni and MIT have created wearables to improve workplace safety in the oil and gas industry.
• Shell is using VR in trainingfor safety training procedures at a deep-water oil project offshore Malaysia.
• BP uses AR smartgalsses in its U.S. operations, alongside drones and advanced analytics.
• Scotland-based Cyberhawk performs inspections and surveys with drones at oil and gas platforms, plants, and refineries across the world, and its clients include major oil and gas companies.

The use of sophisticated and smart technologies is spreading across the oil sector, in which the biggest firms and all those smaller companies who survived the downturn continue to look to save more costs.

Augmented reality will now help truck drivers, warehouse workers, and management keep track of products from the second they leave the factory until the moment they arrive at your door.

Using sensors on packaging, company managers will be able to perform advanced analysis of how a company’s products are doing. In real-time, a factory can increase or decrease production based on that day’s sales at thousands of retail locations. Data scientists working on the digital supply chain can generate new insights from their products regardless of whether the shipment is sitting in the back of a delivery truck or on a distributor’s warehouse shelf. If sales are as robust as forecast, manufacturers can cut losses by making fewer products and redistributing items to where the demand is.

With over one billion AR-enabled smartphones and tablets already in use, companies don’t have to wait for low-cost augmented reality glasses to start reaping the benefits of augmented reality.

The 5 ways in which AR is transforming the supply chain into a nimble tool for global distribution are listed below and explored in detail in the full article:

1) Pick-and-Pack Services

2) Collaborative Robotics

3) Maintenance

4) Last Mile Delivery

5) Procurement

Big data drives the decision making behind the world’s distribution of products throughout the supply chain. Augmented reality is now poised to exponentially increase the speed at which data can be analyzed and acted on. The insights augmented reality bring to the supply chain can be used to power the next generation of the supply chain, which will feature autonomous vehicles and delivery drones.

The author of the article, Jay Samit is independent vice chairman of Deloitte’s Digital Reality practice and author of the bestselling book “Disrupt You!”