Introduction to Augmented Reality in Manufacturing
The appeal of augmented reality (AR) has excited businesses across industries, but for manufacturing, the hype exceeds the sensible application. Sales of AR glasses are forecast to achieve roughly 26 million units by 2023, and there aren’t any signs of sales slowing down. Amid the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic, the potential applications of AR devices have grown even further.
The Reality of AR in Manufacturing
But how realistic is using AR within the manufacturing workforce? While the technology shows great promise, a more practical have a look at AR devices in real manufacturing environments suggests we’re still a good distance off. AR signals a possible disruption for instruction and training in manufacturing, but when the industry benchmark remains to be using paper manuals and over-the-shoulder training, making the leap straight to AR is more fantasy than reality.
Lack of Front-Line Worker Confidence
Hands-free AR devices in manufacturing environments are actually appealing for those looking for innovation, but the fact is that much of the present workforce could lack the arrogance or skills to operate AR devices properly. AR devices sound appealing at first, but front-line staff should interact with the device by some means. Since the discharge of the primary iPhone in 2007, touchscreen devices have taken over a decade to achieve widespread adoption and standardization. Given that the majority people don’t interact with AR headsets regularly, learning to interact with foreign technology could also be an uphill battle for not only front-line staff however the operation and training managers who’re tasked with leveraging them for his or her intended use.
Operating AR Technology in Mixed Environments
In manufacturing, environments can vary from sub-zero temperatures to sweltering climates complete with flying sparks. AR devices face a wide range of challenges in the event that they are to carry as much as the acute conditions present in lots of industrial environments. Current AR devices allow the user to interact with two primary technique of communication — gestures and voice commands. However, loud industrial environments may cause interference with auditory feedback and verbal input methods. Personal protective equipment (PPE), resembling gloves, helmets, and masks, may interfere with gesture recognition as well.
Uncomfortable AR Headsets
Many within the manufacturing workforce have workloads that involve heavy lifting and strain from repetitive tasks. Asking employees to wear an AR headset throughout their shift is a substantial request. A change like that to their work attire may interfere with a wide range of tasks and put staff under undue stress and even conflict with safety requirements. Workers surveyed in a 2016 Swedish study claimed that — even though it was nice to have their hands free using AR headsets — it was "difficult to wear with glasses and it felt heavy after wearing for a protracted time period."
Dynamic Information Display Can Cause Confusion
Among the important challenges for AR interfaces is how and when to direct user attention to the educational content. If information pops up too soon or within the incorrect context, this display method may cause confusion and create safety risks. For instance, some visuals are only triggered once you’re a delegated object or specific direction. In continuously changing industrial environments, displaying information with visual cues might be problematic.
A Practical Approach to AR in Manufacturing
Workforce transformations are hard, and digital transformations are even harder. A report done by McKinsey & Company found that lower than 30% of corporations that attempt digital transformation are successful. It’s essential to be mindful that digital transformation is an evolution, not a revolution. Most proponents would consider AR to be the tip of this evolution. To higher achieve transformation goals, it may be helpful to concentrate on the basics before taking up a complicated system like AR.
Tips for Digitizing Work Instructions
As you begin your efforts to digitize work instructions, there are a number of useful tricks to be mindful:
- Take inventory of your existing instructions with a fast audit. From there, it may be easier to discover quick wins as you aim to enhance.
- Look for a software tool that permits you to create, control, and distribute digital instructions from one place.
- Once you begin your digital work instruction authoring, it is best to capture process knowledge where the work is completed — on the shop floor. Including photos and videos of expert staff executing tasks could make preserving passing on precious knowledge much easier.
Conclusion
Ultimately, AR is a way to present information in a brand new way, but that information still must be documented, accurate, and straightforward to eat for the manufacturing workforce — these are the basics. Focus transformation efforts by making a body of digital work instructions, SOPs, and training materials that staff can change into acquainted with and learn to trust. From there, identifying technologies to share those instructions with can change into rather more attainable. This way, when the time for AR comes, manufacturing will likely be ready.
