Augmented reality enables a new way of working

The technology called augmented reality (AR) refers to a live, direct or indirect, view of a real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as video or graphics. The technology has been utilized in mobile devices for some time now, but now with wearable technologies including optical head-mounted displays, AR is making its way into industrial environments. Olli-Pekka Nieminen, Senior Innovation Specialist at Konecranes takes a look at the key benefits AR wearables will bring to the factory floors and warehouses.

We have probably all assembled furniture using instructions and thought it would be a one-hour task. Then, after three hours when we have finally finished, we find ourselves still left with a few nuts and bolts. If we could get the instructions in front of our eyes in 3D, we could really see which piece goes where and the task would be an easier one. And, of course, more fun.

The ability to work freely using your both hands is a big advantage. Even though we are able to read instructions from paper, a smartphone or a tablet, there really isn’t any other solution enabling work with both hands than the wearable technology. But how does one navigate without clicking? Operating the glasses is based on the movement of the head or eyes. You can also navigate using voice commands, or in some models, using a separate touch pad.

In the future we will also see gesture-based controlling and virtual keyboards as methods of operating things. One possible development is also the integration of smart watches with AR glasses, where the menu options would be controlled on the smart watch, which would then project information on the AR glasses.

But what sort of possibilities does this technology bring to everyday businesses?

One of the benefits of AR technology includes sales. Using wearable augmented reality enabling eyeglasses, you can virtually bring the product or the equipment to the clients’ premises. Applications that allow you to model furniture through AR in your home already exist.

The potential in customer service is intriguing as well. For instance, a stewardess on a flight is able to get detailed information through her eyeglasses about the passengers with special needs or requests on board.

Equally, house renovations could be planned utilizing 3D-models and augmented reality software. Architects could also depict how a house would look like in a certain landscape. A retail store can plan the placement of products inside a store. When purchasing a new car, the technology enables us to test how a particular fabric or color would look like on the dashboard. The sales person is also able to bring additional information about a car directly in front of the potential buyer’s eyes.

In industrial environments, such as factories, the AR technology enables planning changes in the layout, location of the machinery or simulating material flows in a new way. A production manager on the factory floor is able to get detailed information on the capacity and condition of the machinery right on the glasses just by looking at the equipment. Or if there is a fault, you can get the fault codes and the exact location of the fault right in front of your eyes. The possibilities are immense.

AR in industrial environments

Warehouse picking and maintenance are the key areas in industrial environments where AR can be utilized.

In the picking process, warehouse workers can be instructed where certain units are and they can sign for them instantly. When there is a QR code or a bar code, the application recognizes a certain unit and its information just by scanning it.

This enables better operation. It all comes down to recognizing and scanning a product and providing instructions for next actions. All of this enables working more effectively and with less training when conducting inventories.

The key benefit of AR in warehousing is speed. It enables the right information at the right time and place, as well as reporting at the same time. It also reduces the costs caused by faults, which occur when, for instance, the wrong product gets delivered. It lowers the risk of sending the client the wrong product. It is also possible that this technology improves the circulation in warehouses. The AR technology will also shorten the amount of training that is needed to achieve a certain level of competence. In a nutshell, the preciseness of the work, quality of reporting and employee satisfaction all improve, while the amount of errors reduces.

The possibility for augmented reality also enables better maintenance. When a fault occurs, the maintenance person puts on his or her glasses, opens a video connection to a back office expert who can pinpoint the fault in the equipment and give instructions for any necessary actions. The expert sees the same things that the maintenance person does and they can co-operate. Of course, this doesn’t mean that just anybody with AR glasses can conduct maintenance or that the need for skillful maintenance personnel will reduce. AR technology supports the maintenance personnel, it does not replace them.

Guidelines can be imported to machine operators, such as how a certain operation can be carried out in the most efficient manner or what is the next job in the queue. Machine performance data can also be brought to the operators’ vision scope, which would show whether the machine is operated inside allowed limits and what its current settings are. This would improve both safety and productivity in industrial environments.

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