As per stats, 63% of retail brands plan to use Augmented Reality in the next two years. In recent years, Augmented Reality has reached its peak popularity. Things are about to change as AR is on the rise. It also plays a vital role in transforming companies’ assembly and manufacturing processes across the globe. Augmented Reality in manufacturing is making significant changes to the manufacturing industry, where today, possibilities are way beyond just presenting images and digital characters in a real-world environment.
Augmented Reality in Manufacturing
There are now three primary ways companies use Augmented Reality in manufacturing and assembly processes. These all provide an engaging experience that improves operations. However, knowing which kind of AR is most appropriate for a particular application will result in tremendous operational success depending on the environment and requirements of a factory.
1. Accessing augmented Reality on smartphones & tablets
Portable devices (smartphones & tablets) can display task instructions via AR apps. Most people have heard of augmented Reality (AR) social media features like Snapchat filters. Over the past few years, tablets have become more common in the workplace. AR on tablets is straightforward to utilize. Most individuals are familiar with tablet technology, which simplifies training and reduces startup time.
2. Head Mounted devices and AR Glasses
Through AR glasses or a headset, wearable AR technology overlays visuals into the scene around you. Google Glass and Microsoft HoloLens are the two most used AR smart glasses. They function as portable, hands-free computers to show and save data. Due to their portability and vivid visuals, wearable AR is a preferred option in factories compared to tablet AR.
3. Projectors and vision sensors
A virtual step-by-step interactive visual may be displayed on any work surface using projected AR, which combines projectors and vision sensors. You may use it for various manufacturing solutions, training, and maintenance. You can use all augmented reality forms; however, projection-based augmented reality in manufacturing is very flexible. It offers the finest AR solution and the most significant business advantages for all production sectors.
Implementation of AR in Stages of a Manufacturing Business
By utilizing AR technology, manufacturing brands can take advantage of the current developments in the Industry and acquire a competitive edge in their commercial operations. The steps for deploying augmented Reality in a manufacturing company are as follows.
Stage 1: Construct and specify use cases
Creating and defining particular use cases for AR is the first step in integrating the technology into an already-running industrial company. It entails evaluating the company’s current technological and operational procedures to identify which operations might be improved or automated using augmented Reality.
Stage 2: Construct a prototype
Create an AR system prototype to test it in a simulated world after you’ve mapped out the use cases. The team may identify any flaws or issues that need to be fixed before implementing them by testing the prototype.
Stage 3: Build the AR system from the ground up
It is time to design, develop, and install the current AR system after the prototype has been tested and approved. Providing the desired functionality involves:
- Designing and implementing unique software solutions.
- Determining the hardware components required to run the system.
- Integrating them into the business.
Stage 4: Educate your Staff
Employees must develop good AR usage skills while creating it. It could include structured training or practical application using modeled system components.
How Augmented Reality in Manufacturing Will Transform the Industry.
The industrial sector has seen several changes because of augmented Reality. This technology has made the Industry’s actual potential more visible. The following are a few points of how applying AR to manufacturing will revolutionize the sector.
Work Faster
Augmented Reality in Manufacturing can be very beneficial for engineers to assemble anything quickly that might take years of training. But with the help of Augmented Reality, engineers can see cables, rendering of bolts, and instructions on assembling a particular component. They can work 30% faster and more accurately.
Improve Maintenance
Augmented Reality helps the maintenance crew know about hardware and equipment services and check any potential issues. They can use AR to display information whenever they visit the warehouse floor or factory. It allows for quicker response, faster recovery times, repair, and better operations.
Reduce Production Downtime
Many manufacturing firms face production downtime due to the breaking down of machines. It could cost the organization thousands of dollars. The team can quickly identify the flaw and prevent the occurrence of downtime with the help of augmented reality devices. The unit can visually identify the cause and resolve it then and there.
Access any data easily
Engineers can have easy access to any object’s location, specs, lead times, and inventory using Augmented Reality. The team can use an AR-enabled mobile app that can scan QR codes to view graphics and images of the particular product.
What are the possible advantages of augmented Reality for the industrial sector?
The industrial sector has changed significantly because of augmented Reality. Traditional methods are being replaced by cutting-edge technologies, one such technology being AR. This technology has made the Industry’s actual potential more precise in a number of ways:
1. An increase in industrial production
The whole manufacturing process, from the procurement of raw materials to the delivery of the completed product, typically takes considerable time. Augmented Reality can reduce this time by offering answers to routine problems, such as precise step-by-step assembly instructions. AR shows the location of the pieces that engineers should install in a specific order. It allows for a more than 30% increase in assembly speed.
2. Guaranteeing effective staff training
Employees often need extensive training over time to operate effectively in a way that boosts performance and speeds output. By delivering 3D interactive modules, augmented Reality may speed up staff learning in the industrial sector. In the long term, this immersive learning approach not only offers a better comprehension of the learning process but also aids in recognizing the issues and weak points that impede the development of the sector.
3. Shorter sales cycle
Augmented Reality (AR) allows consumers to engage with objects for longer lengths of time and in a more personalized way rather than being restricted to a certain amount of pre-posted photographs or videos. It creates a potent sales channel that is constantly open to clients.
4. Post-purchase assistance
Easy solutions for any post-sale issues for your clients. Dispatch immediate solutions for remote help. Modern features of augmented Reality include:
- 3D annotations.
- Remote camera sharing.
- Single sign-on without outside intervention.
- Simple file transfers.
- Session recording for later use.
The revolutionary qualities of AR have changed how manufacturing firms may offer their after-sales services.
Applications of AR in Manufacturing Companies
AR industrial applications can give infinite and contextual coaching to shop floor workers. It streamlines production procedures and swiftly notifies staff of faults in real time, allowing them to fix problems before they impact output or quality. The manufacturing industry has a few amazing augmented reality apps, some of which are:
1. Airbus
Airbus uses Augmented Reality in manufacturing for different purposes under the brand name Smart Augmented Reality Tool (SART). You can use this technology in various applications, and approximately 1000 employees use SART daily.
2. Boeing
Boeing is the foremost manufacturer of commercial jetliners, using AR technology to ease wiring work. Technicians get their instructions right when needed with the help of AR solutions.
3. Caterpillar
Caterpillar completed a pilot project involving augmented Reality for machine maintenance tasks. It provides sequential instructions to technicians on how to perform different steps correctly. It helps to learn the maintenance procedures very quickly and avoid any errors.
Four Use Cases of How Augmented Reality is Transforming Manufacturing
With the expanding use of Augmented Reality in manufacturing businesses, four crucial instances where AR is proving incredibly useful are the following:
1. Using industry experts for remote maintenance
Augmented reality headsets allow specialists to examine a machine more precisely from the technician’s point of view to identify the cause of a defect. It is in sharp contrast to the earlier times when the manufacturer had to pay for an expert to go to the site while the broken machinery was inoperable, which was expensive. The more quickly businesses can use this technology, the more equipped they will be to satisfy client demand.
Augmented Reality is already being used in US auto dealerships to connect technicians with Porsche specialists based in the Atlanta headquarters. Tech Live Look is the name of their unique AR technology. A camera, microphone, and augmented reality glasses make up this device. These tools allow mechanics to demonstrate their findings to specialists. The specialists can then respond with verbal instructions accompanied by visual instructions that mechanics view superimposed upon the specifics of the vehicle. Porsche claims that it may reduce the time it takes to resolve service issues by 40%, thanks to the new augmented reality technology.
2. Maintaining equipment continuously
Imagine a world where a billion people utilize machinery daily, such as the elevators in the many towers in New York City. For maintenance teams of various sorts of machines, which are frequently in deterioration due to regular usage, combined hardware, and software augmented reality components generate compelling AR use cases.
To better serve its clients, ThyssenKrupp, a German multinational corporation and one of the biggest steel manufacturers in the world, chose to equip its 24,000 field elevator service specialists in the US with the Microsoft HoloLens AR headset. They would use the headset in conjunction with augmented reality software to access data that it could customize to the technician’s needs. Such as the history of repairs made to that specific elevator, task orders that the technician must complete, and the most recent safety alerts. To save time and effort, technicians using AR technology will have the chance to show up at the job site more prepared than in the past.
3. Real-Time, On-Site Training
As the skills gap increases, future talent training will rely heavily on AR. In addition to comprehensive courses, it may provide technicians and mechanics with on-the-job training with seasoned experts through telepresence. It may shorten the learning curve for Augmented Reality in the manufacturing industry by combining experience with guided tasks in real time and fast access to knowledge and resources.
Bosch has used augmented Reality in manufacturing with a 3D tour of an automobile engine to instruct 10,000 service technicians in real-time using a tablet or AR glasses on direct injection and brake technologies. Combining instructions in a three-dimensional setting can make them simpler to grasp, dramatically increasing task completion speed and accuracy.
4. Greater Assembly Speed and Accuracy
Previously, work instructions were PDFs, which are challenging to work on in real time. A floor manager would always keep an eye on their team’s work under such a system, whether they are there physically or not. Today, AR is streamlining complicated assembly processes in the manufacturing industry.
Lockheed Martin engineers developed a method for building and maintaining F-35 aircraft that is 30% quicker and 96% more accurate than what the team previously got. Engineers will put F-35S adequately since they are combat aircraft for air and ground operations. With augmented reality solutions for manufacturing, putting together the warplane is like putting together a Lego model since there is a holographic blueprint for the future machine and instructions on putting the pieces together projected directly onto the scene.
There are so many things that Augmented Reality can do for the manufacturing industry. AR has great potential to revolutionize the manufacturing industries and companies. So, if you are considering integrating AR into your business, PlugXR is one platform that can be a magic wand for you.
We offer an easy drag-and-drop cloud-based platform to create AR experiences that solve problems and elevate applications of the manufacturing industry.