Application of AR
19 April 2023
Augmented Reality application one step closer
Can Augmented Reality (AR) also be applied cost-effectively and efficiently to machines with only one copy being made? To find out, Total Productivity took part in the AR pilot last year, guided by TechValley partner Total Reality. It turned out to be a learning experience.
The Broek op Langedijk-based company devises and builds industrial assembly and production systems for series production of composite products. Think of production lines for Quooker taps, plastic beer containers from KeyKeg or shavers from Philips, outlines managing director Hans Totté. ,,We are responding to the development that more and more manufacturers are offering consumers the opportunity to have their orders customised. This is of course very nice for the customer, but makes the production process more complex. Each product can be different. We have followed this important movement in the market. We design machines that respond to this, while maintaining efficiency and productivity.
Paper manual
For every machine that Total Productivity realises, a comprehensive manual is written, in which operators can find all information about the system, says Niek Ruis, Project Application Engineer. ,,Writing such a manual is not the most fun part of the job for our team. It is also time-consuming, because our machines are ‘one offs’ and we therefore have to write the content almost from scratch every time, with screen shots and clear step-by-step instructions with an explanation that can be understood by everyone.
Longer interest
Animations convey information faster and easier than written-out text, Totté also knows. This is partly why we have been interested in Augmented Reality for years. Around 2010, we participated in an EU project to see if we could use AR for our manuals. We then went down in beauty. Mainly because, at that time, the technology did not have that many features, was not fast enough, not reliable enough and also required huge computing power. Users suffered more than benefited from the system as information was displayed in a delayed manner. Our conclusion then was that the technology seemed potentially interesting, but the time was not yet ripe for it.”
Renewed acquaintance
In early 2022, Total Productivity was approached by Parbleu to participate in a regional AR pilot among machine builders in North Holland North. ”It was interesting for us to gauge where the technology currently stands, whether it is applicable to us now and, if so, whether we would want to,” explains Ruis. AR is a way to make documentation with our machines sexy and encourage our customers to use it more often. For this pilot, we put one of our existing machines into the platform. This works very simply, by the way. It’s a matter of loading the 3D model into Total Reality’s Industrial Life Cycle (ILC) platform, putting virtual stickers on it, adding text and you’re done. I was impressed by how well and quickly it all works. Our customer base should experience the same in the future.
Wish list
Ruis used the pilot to explore the application’s capabilities and see where Total Productivity’s customers would benefit and what was still missing. ,,At the end of the pilot, we found out that AR for ‘one-off’ machines does not yet offer enough added value. Creating a manual this way versus the paper version is still a bit more labour-intensive. The gains should be in interactivity, better after-sales and visual support during breakdowns. It would really be an added value for us if our support department can remotely communicate with this tool and interactively watch, so we can fix a fault faster and further improve our customers’ productivity. That would really make a difference. But that option does not yet exist and is not on the agenda for now.”
Cost
Another question mark for Totté and Ruis is costs. ”The commercial model is not quite clear to us yet. Such a server does not run for free. Does it mean that our customers have to start paying a monthly fee for using it? That would be a hard sell, since they now get a paper manual at no extra cost. Our customers might be quite willing to pay for being up and running faster after an outage and higher productivity, but it is exciting whether they will experience the benefit of an Augmented Reality manual. Just digitising a booklet is not enough. What more we can then offer and how we are going to market that is still some searching.”
Three-dimensional
For one issue, Ruis did find an ear at Total Reality. ,,It would be great if we could transfer the 3D models of our machines 1:1 into the platform, in combination with motion. For example, that you could visualise the operation of a cylinder and make it go up and down at the push of a button. With such animation, information transfer would be much more powerful. And then the technology gets an added value for which our customer might be willing to pay a bit more. That’s something the developers will now dive into.”
Eager to learn
Despite the ups and downs, the pilot was well rigged, Totté felt. ,,The cooperation with Total Reality was fine. We understood what to expect from each other and what we could gain from each other. We had direct access to the developers on the development side, without any intermediate stages. We always got quick answers to our questions. It turned out to be a learning organisation. They listened to our feedback, welcomed our observations and dealt with our comments positively. That was also the approach of this pilot. They wanted to learn from our experiences in the field.”
Much closer
Participation in the pilot has therefore certainly been useful, Totté stresses. ,,We were able to get a taste of the technology again and now know where we stand. For the time being, we are not going to convert the switches, because it does not yet offer enough benefit for us. But if Total Reality develops this concept further and our requirements can be met in two or three years’ time, I can imagine that the switching moment will suddenly come a lot closer.”