Augmented Reality Reshapes the Face of Manufacturing: 4 Use Cases

The discussion of whether automation will eliminate jobs, especially in manufacturing, remains a raging debate. What is more certain is that while some industries estimate significant job growth in the future, they are also doubtful of the ability to find relevant and suitable workers to fill those vacancies.

According to a joint report by Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute, in the next decade, the United States will be looking to fill 3.5 million manufacturing jobs, while currently estimating that 2 million of those jobs will go unfilled as a result of a skills gap. Many executives feel that this gap will be directly related to their ability to meet customer demand, implement new technologies, develop new products, and expand internationally.

In order to bridge this skills gap, the manufacturing industry will have to evolve to include investment in technology related to human-machine interaction, such as augmented reality (AR) – a powerful tool that is changing every industry today.

AR headsets and screens empowered with AR software allow users to see virtual objects superimposed on a picture of the real world. Integrated literally in front of workers’ eyes, digital information helps them make the right decisions in real time, as they accomplish tasks. This way, augmented reality in manufacturing can help increase the speed of assembling and repairing complex products such as vehicles and elevators, assist in technicians' training, and facilitate knowledge transfer from industry experts to ordinary employees.

In this article, we describe 4 real-world use cases where AR software development combined with special equipment has reshaped the manufacturing industry.

Imagine machines used by a billion people each day – elevators in skyscrapers across New York City, for example. Combined, hardware and software AR components create powerful AR use cases for maintenance crews of these types of machinery that are often in disrepair due to constant use.

ThyssenKrupp, a German multinational conglomerate and one of the world’s largest producers of steel decided to connect its 24,000 US-based field elevator service technicians with the Microsoft HoloLens AR headset to better serve its customers. The headset would be combined with augmented reality software that would provide access to data that can be tailored to the technician’s needs, such as that particular elevator’s history of repairs, task orders the technician must complete, and the latest safety alerts for that elevator. Technicians equipped with the AR technology will have the opportunity to arrive at the job site better prepared than in the past with the relevant data, saving time and effort.

Another application of augmented reality in manufacturing is in the simplification of complex assembly. Whereas work instructions were once PDFs that are difficult to work on in real time, an AR headset offers cameras, depth sensors, and motion sensors on top of up-to-date instructions that overlay a real-world view of the working environment. Such a system ensures that a floor manager oversees the progress of his or her team, whether on-site or virtually.

This is the solution Lockheed Martin engineers found for assembling and repairing F-35s, which delivers results that are 30% faster and 96% more accurate than the team received earlier. A combat aircraft specifically designed for ground attack and air missions, it is critical that F-35s be assembled correctly. With augmented reality, assembling the warplane becomes similar to building a Lego model with a holographic scheme of the future machine and the instructions on how to combine the details projected right onto the scene.