Keyur B
August 1, 2023
10 minutes to read
Updated On : August 4, 2023
Gone are the days when technical issues took hours and even days to resolve. Today, with the help of various top-notch technologies, technical issues relating to every industry can be resolved within minutes. An example of this is technical issues in the field, let’s say, in the telecom sector.
Unlike traditional ways, where only verbal communication with face-to-face interactions was the only way to talk to remote technicians. Today, video conferencing supported by lightning-fast 5G helps remote workers collaborate with experts to fix technical issues within minutes.
On top of all, the use of ingenious technologies like Augmented Reality makes it even better and more interactive. With the use of AR, technicians can show the view that they are seeing to the remote experts and seek visual guidance that significantly boosts their productivity while saving time. Let’s read ahead and find out more about Augmented Reality remote collaboration.
The adoption of AR is on the rise in almost every sector. As per stats, the Augmented Reality market will reach $1.1 trillion by 2030. As the market is racing into the future, its application scope is also widening. Remote collaboration is one of them. In the near future, Industrial enterprises will prioritize augmented reality remote collaboration to get ahead in Industry 4.0.
As teased above, AR remote collaboration involves collaborating with people at different locations via a virtually shared environment. In this, multiple people at different locations can talk and share ideas with each other through a simulated virtual environment in real-time.
An example of this can be a person dealing with an issue while inspecting telecom tower. AR in telecom industry allows users to add annotations on their screen that are also visible to the person on the other end. Hence, when a telecom technician points the camera towards the telecom apparatus, for instance, a control box. The remote technician can add annotation on the technician’s view to guide them on which button to press or which lever to pull to resolve the issue.
Besides handy devices like phones and tablets, this AR view can also be projected on the AR smart glasses of the technician. This allows the technician to deal with the issue with both hands.
Well, the working of the entire AR remote collaboration process depends on many aspects. In general, the process is simple, as we just saw above! However, the key elements of the process are the minor details of it! Let’s take a look at them!
Annotations: Annotations or markups are pivotal elements of AR remote collaboration software. Annotations are marks, signs, or symbols that users or experts add to the augmented view to assist the on-site engineers. The use of annotations makes the job easier and faster.
3D object visualization: This is a unique feature of an AR remote collaboration tool. With this feature, you can import 3D models of objects into the view. It can help in correlating the elements of the actual machine by scaling, rotating, and moving the 3D object.
Real-time communication: Communication is the primary element that supports the working of Augmented Reality remote collaboration. In every AR remote collaboration system, real-time communication is of great help to the users. AR remote collaboration tools allow audio, video, and chat communication via which technicians and experts can share their ideas and feedback.
The collaboration of all these and many other features ensure the smooth working of the AR remote collaboration process.
As we are well-versed in the basic definition and working of AR remote collaboration, let’s take a look at its benefits. Augmented reality is a state-of-the-art technology that has countless applications and benefits.
The very first pro of Augmented Reality remote collaboration is real-time communication. With the help of AR remote assistance solutions, technicians or trainers can interact with the experts in real-time from anywhere. Moreover, there can be more than two people in the conversation, which makes it ideal for frontline training.
It is pretty obvious that if you are sending your technicians or trainers to a remote location for repair, maintenance, or knowledge sharing, you need to bear the expenses of truck rolls and travel. With the use of remote collaboration, this travel and accommodation cost can be saved.
Moreover, using AR in remote collaboration makes it easier for experts to guide the technicians on the repair work. Furthermore, it becomes easier for trainers to convey their learning through interactive 3D objects.
If a machine goes bad at a remote location, it is best to send a professional to repair it, right? Well, what if there is an outage and multiple devices go bad at the same time? In such a scenario, an expert cannot be at all the places simultaneously. Hence, with remote AR collaboration, a single expert can empower the frontline workforce and guide them simultaneously, irrespective of location.
Unlike traditional systems where handwritten manuals and voice communication were the only way to guide technicians into resolving the issues. With AR remote collaboration tools, technicians and trainers can engage in video conferencing with remote experts and communicate in a much better and more interactive way.
Unplanned downtime can lead to humongous loss. As per stats, in the manufacturing industry, unplanned downtime costs around $50 billion each year. Hence, if any of your machines in the network goes down and is not repaired quickly, it can significantly affect overall productivity.
However, with the use of AR remote collaboration tools, site engineers can instantly get on an internet session with the experts and bring the machine up and running in no time. Thus, sustaining productivity and preventing any financial loss. To make it better, AI, Machine Learning, and IoT technologies can be brought into use to detect these downtimes in advance and prepare beforehand.
Most of the AR collaboration tools are capable of recording the interaction sessions that include annotations and discussions with the experts. Therefore, if any similar issue happens in the future, these records can be helpful.
The application of AR remote collaboration is in various industries. So far, we have discussed only a few in pieces. However, here is a brief overview of some more!
If you don’t know, telemedicine enables patients and doctors to communicate with each other via various telecommunication technologies. As patients don’t need to physically visit the doctors at their clinic, they can save a lot of time and effort.
With the use of Augmented Reality in healthcare, patients can video chat with their doctors, where doctors can examine them in a better way. If there is any minor treatment required, doctors can guide the patients via on-screen 3D annotations. Lastly, after a thorough analysis of the patient’s condition, health experts can provide them with prescriptions.
AR in construction & engineering assist engineers and architects to plan and execute infrastructure projects in a better way. They can visualize building designs on a construction site before actually building it to gain insights.
This facility of AR enables the stakeholders to understand the risks and safeguard their investments.
One of the best things about AR in education is remote learning. Virtual classrooms are already popular. When AR can be introduced, tutors can enhance the student’s learning experience by creating a more interactive 3D experience of the concepts. This not only makes the learning process easier but more enjoyable too. Furthermore, annotations can be used to point out minor details and elaborate them.
The production process in the manufacturing industry is complicated. There are a lot of processes that form a part of it. Hence, there are a lot of frontline workers in the manufacturing industry. The use of Augmented Reality remote collaboration is at a large scale. How?
When the staff is new, they are provided with digital work instructions by experts in a virtual environment on AR-enabled devices. Further, if there is any issue with any machinery, experts can virtually guide the workers in the troubleshooting process via annotations. Hence, boosting manufacturing productivity and reducing downtime.
Though AR remote collaboration has endless possibilities, there are some downsides that businesses need to keep in mind. Here are some of those prime limitations!
Cyberattacks are always a threat to data. No matter how powerful your data security and privacy efforts are, cyber thieves always succeed in finding loopholes and exploiting them. Statistics suggest that during the first quarter of 2023, around six million data records were exposed via data breaches. These alarming numbers activate the doomsday clock for the firms.
As AR remote collaboration is highly dependent on super-fast internet, if the network connection breaks for a second, it can lead to many issues or even machine damage. Hence, inconsistency in the network is a significant drawback or challenge for Augmented Reality remote collaboration.
While some of your factory workforce would be thrilled to adopt the new AR methods for working, some might be reluctant to do it. Making your workforce work with the new technology may serve as an impediment for you in integrating AR into the factory workflow. It can be due to the learning curve or just fear of the technology.
Your phone, tablet, or smart glasses have batteries. If you are using AR for remote collaboration, it is possible that these devices may lose power after prolonged usage. It is a con if the device dies during an important operation.
However, always remember that to overcome obstacles, you need to have the right solution. Our AR-powered remote assistance solution always provides users with a comprehensive and secure experience.
As we have seen the market of AR, the scope of AR is wide, and so is its future. If we talk about the future scope of AR remote collaboration, here is the potential that we may likely see!
Plutomen Connect is an innovative AR-powered remote assistance solution that seamlessly connects remote workers with experts.
The solution allows workers to collaborate remotely with the experts to seek advice, instructions, and feedback regarding the issues. Industry experts can guide the frontline or field staff via on-screen instructions, voice instructions, and annotations. The collaboration features like video conferencing, chat, and on-screen annotations make Plutomen Connect a must-have solution for future-ready businesses.
Experience seamless collaboration, improved productivity, and immersive remote experience with Plutomen’s AR-powered Remote Assistance Solution – Plutomen Connect.
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With more than 12+ years of experience in the world of enterprises, technology, and metaverse, Keyur Bhalavat is leading Plutomen to gain meaningful partnerships & to have a strong clientele network. He is one of the board members of GESIA (Gujarat IT Association Ahmedabad).
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