How Smartglasses & AR Can Create Business Impact

Businesses today face an aging workforce, a skills drain, and increasingly complex machinery and processes. Augmented reality (AR) and smartglasses are some of the breakthrough technologies that businesses can utilize to stay ahead of their competitors.

Skills Gap

An aging workforce is leading to an impending skills gap. As experienced workers are approaching retirement, they threaten to take their lifelong experience with them. The younger, millennial workforce can lack the necessary expertise and also be difficult to retain. This means that businesses have to figure out how to improve the quality and decrease the time of onboarding. They also have to make sure that the knowledge held by industry experts can be easily distributed from region to region. AR is the bridge between the old and new workforce and is the first step towards integrating workers with an increasingly-connected workplace.

Mass Customization

Today, consumers expect more customized products with a shorter lead time. This trend, known as mass customization, is putting pressure on manufacturers to either build new manufacturing lines or make their existing ones more versatile. Manufacturers and businesses are also being forced to disperse their factories and expertise in order to adapt to regional demand. This is another area where AR and smartglasses can add a great deal of value.

Using AR & Smartglasses to Close the Skills Gap and Meet the Demands of Mass Customization

AR is the overlaying of digital information onto your normal field of vision. Through connectivity and a series of sensors, AR can be used to present the user with real-time instructions and annotations on the world in front of them. This means they can be aware of any potentially hazardous conditions and can visualize how the machinery in front of them operates.

The trend of mass customization means that workers have to get used to multiple technologies and parts quicker than ever. AR, through video see-through technology, like a smartphone or a tablet, or optical see-through technology like smartglasses can help make training simpler.

In the past, new recruits would have to rely on complicated and abstract instructions from outdated notebooks, presentations and manuals. With augmented reality, users can engage with technology in a more natural, intuitive way. It also gives them remote access to the pool of expertise held by aging professionals in the industry.

AR and smartglasses allow you to:

• Deliver step-by-step instructions for assembly and maintenance procedures.
• Deliver training in context, without the user having to shift the user’s attention away from the component.

The benefits of augmented reality for a business include:

• Remote assistance: Workers can get assistance from an expert anytime, and from anywhere.
• 3D visualization: Workers can visualize parts and processes in 3D, and in context. This makes knowledge of the manufacturing line easier to gain and easier to retain.
• Diagnostics and real-time feedback: Workers can identify a problem much more quickly as they have access to a manufacturing line’s key data at any time.
• Decreased cycle times: With improved worker efficiency afforded through AR, manufacturers can expect a decreased cycle time.
• Increased quality: AR can help businesses reduce scrap and machine outages through improved worker quality and maintenance. Workers will also have a better first-time fix rate.
• Spread knowledge: To combat the impending skills gap, AR can be used to spread the knowledge from industry experts to newcomers through an efficient, immersive experience.

PTC’s Vuforia AR Solution

PTC’s Vuforia AR solution is the recognized leader in industrial AR. It is used by over 600,000 developers spanning dozens of industries. The Vuforia platform gives users an AR experience through industry-leading 2D and 3D eyewear.

The Vuforia platform is composed of the Vuforia Chalk, Studio, Expert Capture, and Engine programs. You can read the buyer’s guide to get a more in-depth understanding of the function of these platforms. In short, these are the programs that allow you to design and implement customized AR experiences.

Through this platform, you can design AR experiences that allow you to:

• See 3D digital content overlaid on the real world in front of you
• Build immersive training programs quickly
• Identify spare parts and hidden components
• Visualize real-time IoT data about the workplace around you 

Vuforia, combined with industry AR headsets, are breakthrough technologies that you can utilize to stay ahead of your competitors. Check out this interactive experience to learn more.