Rehm Thermal Systems is always at the forefront when it comes to setting standards in the field of thermal system solutions. The company is also among innovators in plant engineering who are addressing the issue of Industry 4.0. An innovative concept with worldwide Augmented Reality Support should make maintenance, documentation and on-the-job-training easier from now on. The advantages are obvious: reduced travel costs, availability anywhere in the world and shorter response times are just some of the highlights offered by the ViCI.
ViCI stands for Virtual Communication Interface and is intended as a portal for maintenance support in modern electronics production. The innovative solution offers concrete support with the help of smart glasses, guided maintenance scenarios on tablet or smartphone, as well as a comprehensive and expandable knowledge base.
The three pillars of the virtual communication interface:
The Documents area includes a library with all the relevant data needed for operation and maintenance. These include the system documentation, circuit diagrams, as well as, the operating and maintenance instructions.
The Instruction area includes training course content and step-by-step instructions which can be projected directly into the given tasks with the help of smart glasses. The end user is trained in his specific field, directly on the system using the available scenarios – at the precise point in time when the exact knowledge is required. In addition to scenarios for the smart glasses, videos for other devices, such as tablet, smartphone or PC, are available.
If the help of a service technician is necessary for service and maintenance tasks or troubleshooting, Support is available quickly and easily using smart glasses. To diagnose a problem, the operator on site and the service technician look at the system at the same time. The service technician then guides the operator easily and efficiently through the process, he can also send documentation to the glasses to help or make markings in the operator’s field of vision. Clear advantage: This allows them to solve the task together, spontaneously and in a very short time, no matter where they are.
The bottom line is this virtual communication interface helps to reduce machine downtimes and costly service visits and thus ensures maximum system availability at all times. Scheduled maintenance visits and spares management also ensure that production is working to full capacity. Critical areas of the plant can be continuously monitored and activity reports of maintenance work to be carried out displayed.
The ViCI is currently being tested and developed in collaboration with pilot customers. With their cooperation partner artiso GmbH, an initial demo version with live hook-up to one of these pilot customers will be shown at the Rehm Technology Days on October 10 and 11, 2018 in Blaubeuren.
