AR remote assistance in Manufacturing – What is it?

The use of augmented reality in manufacturing industries is rapidly expanding. By 2025, AR and VR in retail will be a $1.6 billion market, according to a recent Goldman Sachs report.

So, what is AR? Augmented reality (AR) is an amplified version of the real world achieved using digital visual elements, sensory stimuli created by technology, and sound. AR in production is a powerful tool that allows users to overlay the information relevant to the task and experience the real world. 

Unlike the takeover of vision with virtual reality, augmented reality remote assistance generates a whole new customer experience, and who wouldn’t want to be part of such?

In 2017 AR was named an emerging technology mega-trend because it promises to lead a mega competitive advantage to businesses that will adopt it over the next decade. 

The benefits of AR remote assistance in manufacturing

The use of AR technology has morphed from just offering gaming solutions. Various industries are adopting technology for its capability to improve business processes. It has enhanced business processes by offering highly efficient solutions to critical problems. 

One of such solution in the manufacturing industry is the augmented reality remote assistance solution. Like other industries, AR remote assistance has had a major impact on manufacturing. 

AR in manufacturing can greatly impact the production process, especially when something goes wrong. AR remote assistance acts as a bridge between the field workers and the technicians. It aids in making the operation efficient by reducing downtime through quick identification of the issue. Traditionally, when such a problem occurs, experts would get called to resolve the situation, which they would do at their convenience.  In the fast-paced environment, we are in, a well-established manufacturing plant that incorporates Augmented reality technology bridges the time gap making the most of your production. AR production allows the remote team to monitor, inspect, and repair the machine. This provides the right atmosphere for the reduction of downtime and increased productivity.

Let’s explore some of the other benefits of augmented reality factories.

1. Save time for maintenance: Machines are exposed to pressure, dust, high temperature, etc., which makes them vulnerable to breakdowns. Only a few field officers on the ground get to contact an expert who will aid in troubleshooting. AR remote assistance allows the field officer to get fast and effective real-time solutions.
2. Gain instant industrial expertise: AR remote assistance provides easy collaboration between experts and field workers. Workers in the factory can easily access the necessary data shared by experts through PDF files and images.
3. Become the reliable partner you want: Remote assistance allows for prompt feedback, and issues are resolved in no time. This gives the manufacturing plant a fast-paced production process and enhances customer reliability.
4. Save cost: By experts offering remote assistance, the cost it would have taken for the experts to visit the site is reduced.

Repairs and Troubleshooting

The seamless production process flow is vital for a manufacturing plant to achieve its goal. Some of the Key Challenges the AR remote assistance App helps to address are:

1. The traveling time experts take to arrive at the site to resolve the issue
2. Communication and collaboration that is needed for the workers to resolve the issues
3. Workers’ efficiency as they get tied waiting for the issue to be resolved
4. Minimized human errors as it automates the whole maintenance process

Minimized Production Downtime

The goal of any manufacturing plant is to transform a raw product into a finished product. Therefore, there needs to be a seamless transition between the processes, and any small interruption/ problem delays the result.  

AR in manufacturing production enables the personnel to find a solution quickly by engaging immediate remote assistance, thus reducing production time loss.

Resolving routine issues

As the process involved in a manufacturing plant is routine, the incorporation of AR remote assistance resolves issues that may arise in daily tasks such as:

• Facilitating an effective collaboration between the remote experts and field workers
• The use of conference calls, real-time chat, and video or audio calling facilities boost collaboration and allow immediate communication.

Automatization

AR production allows for the automatization of the process owing to the live annotations. The use of conference calls, real-time chat, and video or audio calling facilities allows for screenshots to be taken and the videos and audio recorded. This provides a rich knowledge base of certain machine problems.

This information can be used for training and as an emergency go-to option for repair operations.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the benefits of AR remote assistance far outweigh the option of physical site maintenance. Making the most out of your production time, saving time, and maintaining cost are some of the main reasons why most customers opt for companies that offer AR experiences.

Do you also want to reduce risk, errors, and the hassle of troubleshooting? Consider a trial run of AR remote assistance software. It’s fast, reliable, and, best of all, one can get remote assistance.