Augmented Reality: a consequential technology in the future of manufacturing?
If you’re like most people, your idea of augmented reality (AR) is heavily influenced by consumer products like Google Glass or Snap Spectacles. And honestly, those are not all that widely adopted, at least not yet.
But did you know that there are plenty of industries that *are* already using AR, and that it has multiple applications in manufacturing?
Princess Capybara didn’t know about manufacturing applications for Augmented Reality at first…
She was just taking coffee break! (It was too early in the day for wine :p ) and she happened to pass by a construction zone.
Princess noticed that one of the workers had on some funny-looking goggles, and she wondered what they were. Luckily, another worker was taking a cigarette break, so she walked over and asked him about the goggles.
He explained that the person wearing the goggles was the supervisor, and they were Augmented-Reality goggles. He said that the goggles allowed the supervisor to compare the actual construction progress with the construction plan, as a way to catch errors more quickly and reliably.
The worker also said that the company was experimenting with using AR goggles for training new staff members, though he himself had only gotten to try them when he was screwing around on break…speaking of which, it was time for him to get back to work!
Princess continued thinking about the conversation on her walk back to the office and for the rest of the afternoon.
And then suddenly…
And she was inspired to spend the last hour of the day reading about Augmented Reality on her own.
It turned out that, in addition to training and quality control (as she’d seen at the construction site), there are applications for AR in the manufacturing industry such as remote assistance for troubleshooting tech problems, and even business applications that might be relevant to a manufacturing company!
This was great news for Princess Capybara because now she had something exciting to talk about with her friend Process Cat, who was coming over for takeout that night.
Weekly Challenge:
Do you know much about Augmented Reality or its “cousins” Virtual Reality and Mixed Reality (all collectively called Extended Reality)? If not, spend a few minutes doing some of your own research on the topic just like Princess Capybara!
