Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality

How do AI and augmented reality work together?

AI is a machine’s ability to perform tasks and human-like cognitive functions. In industrial settings, AI's ability to gather critical frontline data to be contextualized and leveraged for task automation is a game changer for improving efficiency and simplifying work tasks. However, AI insights aren't always easy to visualize. That's where AR comes in. AR provides an intuitive and potentially hands-free user interface, allowing people to access, manage, and act on AI insights more effectively.

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What are the benefits of combining AI and AR technologies?

Artificial intelligence and augmented reality each provide unique value to the manufacturing organization. When combined, these technologies can unlock efficiencies, improve the frontline worker experience, and more. Leading manufacturers that leverage AI-enhanced AR realize the following critical benefits:

<p>Artificial intelligence and augmented reality each provide unique value to the manufacturing organization. When combined, these technologies can unlock efficiencies, improve the frontline worker experience, and more. Leading manufacturers that leverage AI-enhanced AR realize the following critical benefits: </p>

Increase productivity

AI-enhanced AR solutions increase productivity through immersive experiences paired with AI insights that accelerate user comprehension, decrease the burden on SMEs to assist new hires, and even enable other efficiencies like automated reporting.

Reduce errors

Working with cumbersome paper-based instructions is known to cause fatigue and increase the chance of frontline worker error. AI-enhanced AR experiences provide an “extra set of eyes” for reduced errors—even as users get tired at the end of a shift.

Improve safety

AI-enhanced AR enables real-time warnings that help users avoid incidents. Immersive training experiences and work instructions are also more engaging than paper-based alternatives, increasing employee awareness and boosting on-the-job safety.

Optimize user experience

With paper-based manuals and 2D instructions, frontline workers lacked visual context to help navigate complex equipment. AI-enhanced AR provides immersive visuals and real-time alerts, creating a more efficient and engaging working experience.

Enhance training

AR training experiences enhanced with AI accelerate the training process and make it more effective. Trainees learn faster and benefit from AR as an on-the-job aid, rather than relying on SMEs for help with complicated tasks.

Boost sustainability

By using AI-enhanced AR work instructions, frontline workers have an extra layer of assurance that the job they’re doing is done correctly. This helps avoid errors, rework, and costly scrap—helping promote sustainability in your organization.

Applications of AI and AR Working together

Where to use AI-enhanced AR for maximum value across the organization

AI enhances AR experiences with cues that guide the user through important tasks with accuracy and efficiency. Common use cases for AI-enhanced AR are in situations where the worker benefits from additional guidance and automated feedback to avoid critical errors. The following applications of AI and AR benefit from the valuable combination of visual and AI technology:

Visual inspection

Today, frontline workers rely on the naked eye to complete inspections, which can lead to fatigue and increase the chance of human error. AI and AR optimize visual inspections on the plant floor by identifying all defects and guiding frontline workers through solving them—before the equipment leaves the facility and reaches the customer.

AR Visual Inspection

AR work instructions

AI enhances AR work instructions with step-by-step guidance that ensures frontline workers have completed every part of the task correctly, whether it’s an inspection, a repair, or regular equipment maintenance. Leveraging AI with AR creates the experience of a “digital mentor” to support users with all the information they need, without taking SMEs away from their work.

AR Instructions

Field service inspections

Improving your first-time fix rate is critical for a successful field service organization. To help avoid the need for a return visit, AI-enhanced AR can review the final service job and confirm through visual guides that everything has been completed correctly. These results can be automatically documented and used to offer the customer quality assurance about the completed job.

Field Inspections

The future of AI and AR

Technologies like artificial intelligence and augmented reality should be used to empower industrial workers—not replace them. Future advancements in machine learning, computer vision, and deep learning hold immeasurable value for employees as they face a rapidly changing manufacturing landscape. They’ll need to leverage the real-time insights that AI can provide, and the visual guidance AR offers to enhance the way they assemble, inspect, and maintain products.

AI-Enhanced Inspection

Getting started with Artificial Intelligence in Augmented Reality

Discover how Vuforia Expert Capture can enhance work instructions with real-time AI guidance.

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AI and AR create a valuable combination of technology that yields multiple benefits for users, the business, and its customers. Explore the resources below to learn more about the value of AI-enhanced AR.

Artificial intelligence and augmented reality FAQ

What’s the difference between artificial intelligence and augmented reality?

Artificial intelligence is a machine’s ability to perform tasks and cognitive functions that we associate with human thinking. It can process information about the world to provide insights, manage systems, or even control machines. Augmented reality overlays digital content on the physical world that can be viewed through headsets or mobile devices. It can be used to visualize 3D work instructions and internal components based on CAD models and even view live IoT data.

But augmented reality isn’t separate from AI; it needs AI to function.

The ability for AR to accurately place a digital object on the floor or table is powered by computer vision. Applied here, computer vision is the helping hand to understand the physical environment in a visual way, whereas AR is the overlay of digital information onto the real environment. AI has several branches that can be used with or without augmented reality, but many of its benefits can be leveraged alongside AR.

How should we address privacy concerns around AI and AR?

Artificial intelligence and augmented reality are powerful tools in the workplace. However, to be powerful tools, they need access to an organization’s critical data and intellectual property. This is rightfully a concern for any business considering these technologies. Choosing a software provider that offers both on-premises and secure cloud solutions is key. Make sure that the solution you choose has:

SSAE 16 SOC2 compliance
Content encryption, secure authentication, and user permissions
Environment vulnerability scanning and penetration testing
DDoS protection for real-time monitoring and remediation
Robust backup and disaster recovery