Cited as the precursor to augmented reality (AR), the first head-mounted display system was developed by Harvard associate professor Ivan Sutherland in 1968. Its formidable size and weight earned it the name; The Sword of Damocles. Here, Marek Lukaszczyk, European and Middle East marketing manager at global manufacturer of motors and drive technology, WEG explains how AR has advanced since the 1960s and what its place is in modern automation maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO).
The Sword of Damocles featured binoculars that would change the user’s perspective of the room, but the technology was so huge it had to be hung from the ceiling. It was a far cry from today’s modern AR devices used in commercial and industrial settings.
The European AR and virtual reality (VR) market reached 4.57 billion USD in 2018 and is predicted to reach 50.55 billion USD by 2026. [SW1] While consumer spending remains the largest segment of AR and virtual reality (VR) spending worldwide, the manufacturing segment takes second place, and arguably for very good reason — AR has highly beneficial capabilities in MRO.
For example, an engineer may be using an AR headset to conduct routine maintenance on an electric motor. The AR system superimposes simple step-by-step instructions in the engineer’s field of view, to indicate specific wires, overlay troubleshooting guidance and provide a digital workflow. The engineer certainly doesn’t miss their traditional pen and paper checklists, as they tick off tasks by simply reaching out in their augmented environment.
The engineer may not even need to be onsite to carry out checks and assessment. They could assist less-experienced colleagues from a remote location, using the wearer’s field of view to make decisions from the comfort of their own home. The remote engineer can speak directly to the wearer, ‘pointing’ to specific parts visualised as an overlaid indicator, to ensure complete clarity on what needs to be done, where.
In the wider factory, AR can use information from entire automation systems, to display important real-time diagnostic information about each machine or process available, so that engineers can understand problems down the line and conduct proactive maintenance accordingly. This has the potential to significantly minimise downtime, increase human performance and boost overall visibility of assets.
Another area where AR is having a considerable impact is virtual control panels. These improved interfaces not only provide user clarity, but also allow engineers to adjust machine performance without physically touching the equipment — in turn reducing the risk of injury on the shop floor.
The machine learning algorithms that make AR possible will likely become more sophisticated as the technology evolves further. Additionally, as with the electric motor case, peripheral technology, such as customizable features on variable speed drives (VSDs) that control and monitor motor performance, will ensure even the ‘foundation’ components to a factory can become connected, and brought into the AR world.
For example, WEG Motor Scan is a performance monitoring device that extracts and sends data from the motor, to the cloud, informing maintenance engineers on preventative actions they could take to minimize downtime. This information could be overlaid into the AR environment, to give the headset wearer complete vision of motor performance, alongside other factory assets.
It’s safe to say that AR has come a long way since the brilliant, yet primitive Sword of Damocles system, and its future in factory settings looks bright.
For information about WEG’s product range for industrial automation applications visit www.weg.net.
WEG Europe and Middle East 