The use of AR in assembly – Installers can view the instructions in their smart glasses

Mass production replaced by customisation

A growing number of customers want products manufactured according to their unique specifications. And in future, the demand for customisation will only increase. This means industry must manufacture each product in a range of versions – sometimes with large differences, sometimes small – but always constructed in a slightly different way regardless. When so many different products are manufactured, not even an experienced installer can keep track of every version of a product which is assembled and the parts which are required.

“Paper based instructions are not going to work. Instead, we have to provide installers with digital instructions. We can see many different applications for smart glasses within industry, including training, quality control, service and maintenance. Above all though, the technique can be used during assembly,” explains Anna Syberfeldt, Professor in Automation Engineering at the University of Skövde.

Smart glasses, AR glasses and glasses with augmented reality – there are many different names for the same device, that is, glasses which can project computer generated information directly into the wearer’s field of vision along with what they see through the glasses. AR is the abbreviation for augmented reality.

Research alongside industry

One application for augmented reality is different types of computer games as well as other consumer use. Who could forget Pokémon Go, the simple game which had children running around with smartphones in which they could view small figures included in the camera’s depiction of the reality surrounding them.

Naturally, showing computer generated images or text projected in smart glasses takes this technology to a new level. This is both fun and practical in a range of contexts.

The glasses are also expected to make a big impact in industry. As a result, the University of Skövde is conducting research with a number of industrial companies to develop the technology in line with their needs.