Smart Manufacturing — Industry 4.0 is transforming the manufacturing industry in fundamental ways, significantly increasing the complexity of connected systems within manufacturing environments. Simultaneously, the availability of experienced technicians who understand this equipment decreases, and the skills gap of the manufacturing workforce widens.
New technologies are required by organizations to empower their workforces to manage this transformation and fully leverage the potential of Industry 4.0 strategies.
Innovations like spatial computing are emerging as instrumental tools, revolutionizing manufacturing by enhancing the productivity, efficiency and safety of the deskless workers who keep complicated systems running.
Understanding Spatial Computing
An increasing number of industrial organizations are leveraging augmented reality (AR). Unlike virtual reality, which creates entirely simulated environments, AR enhances the real world with digitized information-detailed schematics, digital twins, real-time analytics, etc.-enabling deskless workers to complete complex tasks more efficiently, completely and safely.
Digital augmentation of the environment is critical for allowing deskless staff to operate safely within industrial settings. Seeing the actual equipment within an operating space is essential for safe movement and task completion.
The augmented data provides unprecedented visual context, delivered through a wide variety of devices-smart glasses, tablets, smartphones, goggles and headsets. Digital augmentation provides knowledge, leverages AR objects and prompts to direct workers to exact locations, and enhances task completion without impeding the view of the machinery, human interaction with the machinery, or the presence of coworkers within the environment.
