As a leader in the CMMS solution market, CARL Berger-Levrault is betting on the application of augmented reality to maintenance occupations. In its experimentation, the publisher is working on an augmented maintenance prototype intended for technicians using Microsoft’s HoLolens 2 headset. The aim: ensure optimal support for the performance of maintenance operations by guaranteeing safety, efficiency, and intuitiveness.
Based on the observation that context-sensitive information is very often lacking in the field, CARL Berger-Levrault decided to develop this innovation, integrated with its historical CARL Source solution, in order to:
- produce augmented, context-sensitive, and complete work order reports ;
- easily access data (IoT, documentation, 3D models), in the physical world and in the field;
- facilitate communication and share a problem in real time with a colleague or an expert available through remote support
- Ensure rapid access to the right selected information when needed to be able to perform the operation optimally;
- access the description of the operation to be performed, while keeping hands free;
- minimize the actions that need to be performed by the technician to configure the virtual workspace, without having to use any tools;
- create key moments in a video describing the action, and link the operations to these key moments, which can be reused by subsequent teams;
Better interaction for greater productivity
With its primary focus being on preventive maintenance operations, which occur in numerous areas of activity (industry, municipalities, real-estate infrastructure, transport, health), this prototype ensures a thorough augmented assistance process for increased productivity: a conventional action becomes an interactive multimedia action, which ultimately leads to an anchored action that augments the technician’s reality, thus providing assistance.
Results: the operations are performed in less time and more safely.
Work of CARL Berger-Levrault on Augmented Maintenance: since concrete application in the field is necessary to validate practices, this prototype has been designed with a set of partnering pilot clients. Other work, such as remote support during development, will provide the “Dynamic Augmented Maintenance” dimension.
