With excitement comes the instinct to dismiss new technologies as all hype or impractical. But when it comes to AR, it’s all a matter of how it’s used.
What is augmented reality, in simple words?
In the literal sense, “augmented reality” is a reality that has been made greater by some addition. In reference to technology, that reality—their experience of the world—is enhanced primarily through the user’s faculty of sight (and sometimes hearing) by the addition of digital content like text, images, or video.
Augmented reality is distinct from virtual reality. VR is the total occlusion of one reality for a digital alternative.
In the context of enterprise AR, a professional’s reality is enhanced by the addition of useful, usable digital content within their environment, thereby enhancing their work or their ability to work.
How does augmented reality work?
Augmented reality works by analyzing the environment and using triggers around you to display relevant information in the applicable place in your field of view. So, for example, an AR function for a map application might be programmed to detect the logos of specific stores and display details such as store hours when you look at them.
Augmented reality devices use a combination of cameras and sensors to “understand” their user’s environment in order to integrate behaviorally aware, contextually relevant content within their field of view. Magic Leap 2 , for instance, has three World Cameras and a depth sensor (also called a Time of Flight or ToF sensor) to accomplish this.
Face filters are a prevalent rudimentary form of AR, and while there are some phone and tablet apps that feature AR capabilities for work, their form factor and computing power severely limit their capability and usability for meaningful tasks.
Purpose-built enterprise AR in a headset form factor doesn’t leave users with only one free hand and affords them a larger field of vision, deeper immersion, and greater computing power devoted entirely to running AR solutions.
Augmented reality in manufacturing
AR can help manufacturers share expertise and train new employees
Linear motion company PBC Linear is one of the many organizations using AR to capture and leverage machine instructions from seasoned employees to help train new machine operators effectively, resulting in an 80% reduction in training time and 20% in annual savings due to less scrap and fewer mistakes — ensuring quality parts get to customers on time. By running Taqtile’s solution, Manifest, on the Magic Leap platform, PBC Linear frontline workers have instant access to step-by-step video, text, and PDF instructions as well as remote-expert guidance from their most experienced technicians and trainers—anytime and anywhere. Augmented reality functions and capabilities are helping train and upskill the PBC Linear workforce, regardless of geographic location.
