Manufacturing Magazine July 2015 | Page 9

AUGMENTED REALITY engineers , referring to live process values and performance indicators relevant to the process from the local automation system . The engineer can analyse the problem in real time , asking the right questions of the operator in order to resolve the problem . But this is just one example . We are only seeing the beginning of everything augmented reality can do .
Augmented reality solves your plant floor pain points Turning towards industrial operations , plant managers in the manufacturing and automation field are beginning to see augmented reality as a way to address many plant floor challenges . Solving downtimes issues and improving communications through the plant are two of the main issues but there are many areas for improvement . Here are a few more examples of common plant floor issues , which mobile augmented reality can readily solve .
View contextually relevant machine data Augmented reality can be used to contextually display critical information regarding a machine and its performance . For example , an augmented reality-enabled app might recognise a piece of equipment via an augmented reality tag , QR code or beacon , and then overlay a live video feed with relevant information about the equipment on the mobile device display . The worker can now see critical process data in context of the equipment on which they are working or repairing . This functionality can be extended easily by providing links to electronic documents relevant to the equipment , such as schematics , manuals , how-to movies , and web-based data entry forms .
Streamline reaction to downtime events When following customary repair or maintenance procedures , manufacturing plant workers often spend time trying to identify the part of the machine that requires their attention . Using augmented reality to visually identify and direct workers to the specific part that requires their attention will be a fundamental use . Production downtime costs are often measured in hundreds or thousands of dollars per minute . These costs are multiplied when
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