Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and Mixed Reality in Industry 4.0
Industry 4.0 refers to the fourth industrial revolution related to industry. Although it is concerned with areas that are not usually classified as industry applications in their own right, such as smart cities.
The first industrial revolution came with the advent of mechanisation, steam powder and water powder. Followed by the second industrial revolution around mass production and assembly lines using electricity. The third industrial revolution came with electronic and I.T. systems and automation, which led to the fourth industrial revolution that is associated with cyber physical systems.
What is AR VR and MR?
Augmented Reality (AR) adds digital elements to a live view often by using the camera on smartphone. Example: Snapchat lenses and the game Pokemon Go!
Virtual Reality (VR) implies a complete immersion experience that shuts out the physical world. Using VR devices such as HTC Vive, Oculus Rift or Google Cardboard, users can be transported into a number of real-world and imagined environments such as the middle of a squawking penguin colony or even the back of a dragon!
Mixed Reality (MR) experience, combines elements of both AR and VR, real-world and digital objects interact. Example: Microsoft’s HoloLens.
What does AVR have to do with the industries?
Worldwide, there is a heavy focus across the manufacturing sector on digital transformation, industry 4.0 and stronger performance. As automation increases across the supply chain, technology like VR and AR ensures that process and production can still be analyzed, serviced and optimized in real-time by human intelligence.
AR Assist for Manufacturing — a business case example
Imagine being on an aluminum factory line. You are a junior operative and it is your first time in a sheet rolling mill to detect and surface issues. In the land of continuous process manufacturing, one wrong move can create a domino effect of expensive and highly injurious occupational and operational consequences.
As such, your knowledge has equipped you enough to see that the last throughput is showing defects across all the metal surfaces. As always, you make the right decision in highlighting tiny temperature and pressure inconsistencies — a good 20 minutes before the defects could appear. You let the plant manager know and make the correct call on gauge adjustments.
Thanks to Augmented Reality, you can conduct this best practice in real time, taking and processing data on the spot — saving your boss time and money.
But, Why is this important?
While it is largely down to human wisdom to spot manufacturing errors like these, the observation is ‘post-process’. In AR, ‘man-machine collaboration’ allows these kinds of relatively simple optimizations to take place, and prevent parting with lost materials and lost money. AR provides constantly-connected ways of optimizing productivity and helping to prevent costly mistakes with live and preventative data fed into a person’s field of vision.
VR Health and Safety Training for Manufacturing
Virtual Reality and the digital twin are two growing, related concepts in a variety of industries. The two have never been more relevant in manufacturing than they are now.
Traditionally, these are used as parallel systems, where a digital twin system can be used for testing, maintenance observations and operations optimization. If the digital twin yields good results, they can be applied in real-time directly to the ‘real-world’ system.
At EON Reality, we have a ‘tripartite’, definitive use for VR and AR called ‘Learn (AR and VR), Train (VR), Perform (AR)’. We bring these technologies together in the AVR (Augmented Virtual Reality) Platform.
Virtual reality, Augmented reality and Mixed reality can be that bridge which connects the personnel with the Industry 4.0 advancements while utilizing with IoT developments effectively, and skilling the personnel would become relatively easy, effective and cost-effective solutions.
Some the the vital applications are:
- Design and prototyping.
- Inventory Management.
- Increased Security.
- Preventing accidents and disruptions.
- Real-time employee instruction.
What about Industry 5.0?
Industry 5.0 is already being spoken about and involves robots and smart machines allowing humans to work better and smarter.
By connecting the way in which man and machine work together, estimates say that Industry 5.0 will mean that over 60% of manufacturing, logistics and supply chains, agri-farming and the mining and also oil and gas sectors will employ chief officers by 2025.
Imagining a world full of technologies like AR, VR with Robots helping humans to grow into masterminds and reigning the industries is not a dream anymore!! A blink of an eye and this reality could have changed your perspective forever!!
References
https://www.twi-global.com/what-we-do/research-and-technology/technologies/industry-4–0
https://www.simulanis.com/blog/industry-4-0-and-use-of-ar-vr-mr-along-with-iot/
