How Immersive Technologies Make Manufacturing More Efficient
Immersive technologies strengthen asset management and bolster smart factories.
TAKEAWAYS:
● Higher levels of reliability, speed, and productivity as well as enhanced safety and compliance are benefits of immersive technologies in smart factories.
● Immersive technologies reduce training costs and increase new-hire productivity with real-time, interactive, on-the-job training.
● Tools like augmented reality and virtual reality enhance maintenance practices, reduce downtime, lower maintenance costs, and enhance manufacturing performance.
While manufacturing automation could be considered the original smart factory technology, it is certainly far from the last. Transformative technologies are making inroads at all levels of plant operations, including equipment maintenance and repairs.
Not long ago, industrial maintenance was primarily a laborious, reactive function routinely performed after the damage was done or the asset ran to failure. This changed with the advent of Industry 4.0 technologies, which made the maintenance of complex and increasingly sophisticated equipment more proactive, predictive, and to some extent even automated. Using smart maintenance tools and practices helps manufacturers avoid costly equipment failures and unplanned production downtime, and enables plants to increase performance and throughput and boost the bottom line.
Immersive technologies such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR) are prime examples of smart maintenance technologies. Providing an immersive reality experience to technicians and reliability engineers is transformative in terms of improving maintenance efficiency and effectiveness. In turn, immersive technologies drive smart factories to higher levels of reliability, speed, and productivity while enhancing safety and compliance.
Immersive Technologies Explained
Immersive technologies extend and deepen the information available from which manufacturers can make decisions and take action. Digital or simulated reality supplement a technician’s perceived reality in the real world. There are three immersive technologies commonly used: augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality
Augmented Reality
AR augments the scope of information available to technicians beyond what their senses, memory, work orders, inspection checklists, or other materials normally at hand provide. It takes live video of the real asset or environment via a camera-equipped phone, tablet, or wearable such as goggles and glasses (for a hands-free approach), and then overlays these additional digital images, graphics, notes, or other supporting materials over the real-world setting—on demand, in real-time, through a head-up display. Hand gestures, eye tracking, and voice recognition are among the ways a technician can request supplemental data and imagery and take it into immediate consideration.
To further facilitate maintenance and inspection, AR with audio capabilities enables real-time communication with remote experts, anywhere in the world, who can assist by answering questions, diagnosing problems, or guiding the technician through specific tasks—without incurring the time and travel costs of an on-site visit. AR stands out for its hands-free, real-time data access, empowering technicians with unparalleled insights on the shop floor.
Micah Statler is the Director of Industrial Technologies at Advanced Technology Services. He is responsible for the strategy, execution and delivery of technology-driven maintenance solutions.
