Augmented Reality (AR) is a technology that enables operators to visualize digital content on top of the physical world. This happens mostly through the lens of a smartphone, a tablet or even a headset. At KIT-AR, we leverage Industrial Augmented Reality to make several processes in the manufacturing industry much more efficient.
But how can we make this happen with AR?
Assembly
Assembling is the process of putting together separate components of an equipment and making it functional. Even though, nowadays, many assembly operations are automated, some of them are extremely complex and require a flexible approach that only a human operator can bring. The use of step-by-step AR instructions makes it easier for the workers to follow procedures and to avoid costly and time-consuming errors, that have a severe impact in production lines.
Maintenance & Repair
Because it requires keeping the user focused on a specific area, maintenance also serves as a natural application for AR. For example, AR can display information, relevant data about an unfamiliar piece of equipment, can also provide X-Ray like experiences that allow the operator to look inside the equipment, or it can also provide data from IoT tools, for instance.
Training
Training is an increasing need in the manufacturing shopfloor. Nowadays, manufacturing companies are required to deliver custom products, which increases the number and the complexity of the processes involved in manufacturing them. Due to these two reasons, there is a lot more upskilling to be added to the manufacturing shopfloor and the manufacturing industry all together.
These processes are sometimes solved by an increasing number of great tools and technologies, such as AR, which can expand the worker’s capabilities on the shopfloor. AR can sort out the training in these new skills, both through instructions and also through simulations. This technology can reduce the need of the worker to move away from his workstation and, overall, can decrease the time-to-competence and the cost involved in training a new skill.
Quality control & Inspection
Being able to visually recognize and pinpoint if the parts and pieces are applied according to the norm is also a key scenario for AR in manufacturing. Algorithms, like our KIT-SMART, help workers to do their job even better as they automatically allow them to confirm if parts are in place just by gazing at them. And if, by chance, a defect is detected, then automatically instructions can be presented to allow the corrections that need to be made.
Cost-Benefit with AR
Overall, the mentioned examples are just general applications. Leveraging AR projects always implies a clear cost-benefit relationship that must make sense inside each company’s context. So that is why we invite you to do that exploration with us, at KIT-AR.