Incredible footage shows how augmented reality glasses could replace repair manuals and are helping engineers to do their jobs
- Glasses will display step-by-step instructions for machine repairs
- Support representative can see live feed from glasses to give customized advice
- Companies can store 3D instructions for future use
Augmented reality glasses could soon replace repair manuals.
Fieldbit, a technology company based in Mountain View, has developed an AR application targeted at engineers and field repair specialists that will place instructions for how to operate machinery and repair malfunctioning industrial equipment directly into one’s field of view.
The technology allows an engineer to see a live feed from the glasses of a worker on the ground and place specific instructions into the environment to guide them through a maintenance or repair procedure.
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Fieldbit’s AR software will give detailed instructions to field workers on site.
For routine procedures, companies can record the instructions and spatial information into a database so future employees can access the information at any time.
One of Fieldbit’s clients is Veolia Water Technologies, a water treatment firm.
Fieldbit’s technology gives Veolia field technicians and engineers a rich database of information for navigating water treatment facilities.
The AR tool reveals potential tripping hazards, shows readouts from distant gauges that would otherwise be too small to see, and points to machinery that is functioning suboptimatlly or needs repair.
An engineer can see a live feed from the AR glasses and drop and drag icons and instructions directly into the environment to guide them through a complicated repair.
Fieldbit focuses on software and can adapt its tools to a number of different AR glasses depending on the need.
Perhaps the most famous AR technology comes from Magic Leap, a secretive company run by an eclectic mix of roboticists, game designers, programmers, and special effects artists.
Fieldbit’s AR software lets users highlight individual parts and give specific instructions about how to proceed.
The company released its first pair of AR glasses this January.
Reviewers were generally impressed with the quality of the product but seemed let down by the lack of software.
For general consumers, the smartphone has become a thriving AR device.
Lime Crime introduced an AR app that walks users through a makeup tutorial.
Google Lens will identify landmarks via a user’s smartphone camera.
Last month, IKEA released an app called Place, that allows users to place digital renders of furniture in their homes or apartments using their phone camera.
HOW DO MAGIC LEAP’S LIGHTWEAR AUGMENTED REALITY HEADSETS WORK?
Magic Leap’s first device, Magic Leap One (Creator’s Edition), contains three components.
These are the Lightwear glasses, the Lightpack computing platform, and the Control handheld controller.
The Lightwear goggles use Digital Lightfield technology, which generates digital light at different depths.
While they haven’t yet said the exact date it will be released, or how much the device will cost, Magic Leap says its AR devices will begin shipping in the latter part of 2018
This blends with natural light to produce more lifelike objects over real world settings.
The Lightpack, the firm explains, is the ‘engine’ behind the spatial computing platform, with high-powered processing and graphics in a small, portable design.
And, the handheld controller will give users force control and haptic feedback, and allow for six degrees of freedom.
