The use of augmented technologies in the fields of industry is developing and the Digital Enhanced Operator (DEO) project aims to bring “added workers” to the Volkswagen Autoeuropa production line., technology development and best practices in an industrial context. The pilot project kicks off in Palmela and should go live in May 2023 with the ability to measure the performance of workers using the technology.
The DEO has partnership between INESC TEC, Skillaugment and Volkswagen AutoEuropa and uses KIT-AR to support production operations and quality control with step-by-step instructions in augmented reality, shown through special glasses, the HMD (Head Mounted Display) device. The project started in the third quarter of 2021.
“Soon Augmented reality will play a pivotal role in the industry, enabling smarter manufacturing and overcoming key challenges.how to help workers perform their operations more efficiently and safely. It is also expected to improve the environmental impact by reducing waste and emissions,” explains Helder Vicente, Production Engineer at Volkswagen Autoeuropasaid in a statement.
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Development, implementation and research carried out in the DEO are supported on the KIT-AR platform and Manuel Oliveira, founder and CEO of the company, explains that “by using KIT-AR, Volkswagen Autoeuropa employees will feel more secure, but also more confident.” in the performance of their tasks, which will improve the results and fault tolerance of production lines. The specialist also acknowledges that the possibility of implementing the technology at one of the largest plants in Portugal is a big step for KIT-AR.
“We will really see how workers will react and interact with augmented reality, and how it will change their daily functions,” emphasizes Manuel Oliveira.
One of the objectives of the project is also to develop scientific research and ways to integrate best practices in the application of augmented reality technology in an industrial context. Philippa Ramalho, researcher at INESC TEC, adds that she hopes the technology will improve productivity and quality.but also “reduce human error on production lines by adapting workers to the digitization of the factory floor and by providing cognitive and personalized reinforcement.”
“In a broad sense, industrial augmented reality systems will determine the type of interventions needed, synthesize and provide information to operatorsaccording to their needs and when and where they were needed,” explains the researcher, adding that “content is rendered through a runtime system that is supported by context-based models.“.
