Have you ever heard of “Augmented Reality (AR)”? Maybe from your kids or your favorite car maker – AR has already been used for quite some time in a number of sectors,especiallyin the gaming industry and for car design. It adds information features to your normal eye sight. What’s new is the availability: Ten years ago one needed very expensive cameras, graphic processors, display walls and data goggles. Nowadays smartphones and tablets are already well equipped to show complex content or virtual trips in realtime. A wealth of popular AR apps exist, from customizable head-up displays for cars up to identification tools for commercial aircrafts in the sky. So why not use all these possibilities for production environments?
The development of human-machine interfaces has always been a key for success for German machine makers. I believe AR has the potential to revolutionize the industry. In contrast to consumer products, machines need educated, experienced personnel – for operation and maintenance likewise. However, the intuitive use of smart phones and tablets is attractive for industry applications as well. Reliable manageability ensures product quality, productivity and price. Usability facilitates customer satisfaction and competitiveness in the end. AR is a new tool for it.
Moreover, “Industry 4.0” becomes an intuitive live experience. Let’s face it: Beyond the hype– still, the exact procedures within the machines are often abstract to workers on the line. Some “magic” inside the machine? What exactly happens there? What instructions does the machine give to the workpiece (without telling me)? AR answers these questions visually and intuitively – the ultimate human-machine interface. AR therefore does not only enhance operability of machines, it increases the acceptance of factory digitalization as a whole.
At the productronica special show “Electronics.Production.Augmented” several use cases demonstrate how powerful AR is in this respect. We have even more in store in the forum program and the round table on “Industry Electronics” together with EPP.
I am looking forward to seeing you there!
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