TechViz - Blog - AR / VR for engineering

Imagine that you are in the market for a new equipment, but instead of looking into catalogues or websites, you want to see how it fits in your workplace. Layering virtual objects and other digital mediums into our daily lives can sound like something out of a Science Fiction movie. But with smartphones and other devices becoming a huge part of our daily lives, Augmented Reality (AR) has already changed our daily lives, and our businesses.

Just one month ago, we learned that the Chinese internet giant ByteDance, owner of the popular Tik Tok app, would acquire Pico, the third-largest maker of VR headsets globally. This piece of news has created quite a buzz within the XR community as it sets the stage for head-on competition between Facebook / Oculus and ByteDance / Pico, not to mention Microsoft / HoloLens and the much-rumored future launch of an Apple headset. What is the impact for professional users of the foray of Big Tech into XR? Should they rejoice or worry? Are specialized makes doomed to disappear?

Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are two innovative technologies that are in high demand today. In fact, a recent report notes that the AR and VR market is poised to grow to $140.1 billion by 2026, thanks to a high CAGR of 38.4%. As various industries such as manufacturing, automotive, shipbuilding, and education continue to find ways to creatively leverage said technologies, the market for professionals who understand how to develop them will become more competitive. It is important to remember that the VR technologies and strategies used for engineering differ from the one used in gaming. In gaming, developers are more focused on providing quality entertainment in a VR world. On the other hand, VR for engineering is set on delivering 3D models and visualization techniques to enhance the design process.

Pursuing an engineering career in AR and VR can provide you with job security and a stable income. However, breaking into the industry can be difficult, especially if you’re just starting out. Here, we’ll discuss how you can launch   your engineering career in this particular field.

While Industry 4.0 affects production lines and machines, it is also a challenge for operators. With the happening of modern plants, the increase in automation and robotization, their environment has become more and more complex, and they must adapt fast. To keep working efficiently, not only they need new skills and tools and so they need to be trained, but also solutions to improve their decision-making processes. With the ability of virtual technologies to provide 1:1 scale virtual machines that you can interact with, it is possible to be trained as if being in a real plant, interacting with real machines. Decision makers can visualize and analyze every step of an operation and improve them without having to go through the whole physical prototype making process. Thus virtual reality appears to be the adequate solution to improve field operators efficiency.

This article is the 2021 edition of a regular review the TechViz team carries out to help you navigate the market. There are indeed many types of XR headsets around: tethered, all-in-one, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality… This can sometimes be confusing, especially because every manufacturer uses its own terminology to boast the uniqueness of its technology.

Designing and manufacturing aircrafts is quite a challenge. The million parts composing a plane must be as light as possible, while extremely resistant, and they must be assembled in a precise order. This has to be done in a context of fully globalized supply chains, with subassemblies prepared in different locations across the globe.

 Hence you should watch for some key issues: 

• The risk of conception errors is multiplied by the number of contractors and workers involved in the project

More and more engineers are relying on Augmented Reality (AR) and  Virtual Reality (VR) in their jobs. Yet, to do so, you need to choose a software and a deployment that fits your use of these technologies, internal skills and budget priorities.

The choice usually boils down to On-Premise versus SaaS (Software as a Service), but it covers various dimensions:

- Budget: Subscription model versus permanent license 

- Location of rendering servers: local versus Cloud

- Remote accessibility and collaboration

Let’s take a look at these different dimensions to help you determine which is best for your business.

For years, maintenance has been perceived as critical to the productivity performance, but treated as an afterthought during the development phase and as a pain point in the operation phase.

Maintainability had unmet needs that were hard to address with traditional development and production techniques. Yet, with the cost of service being built into the ownership model of an ever-larger number of products, companies are increasingly paying attention to ensure easy and efficient maintainability. The rise of new technologies, such as the Virtual and Augmented Realities (VR /AR), the Internet of Things (IoT) associated with Artificial Intelligence are changing dramatically the way it is addressed.

For machine tool manufacturers, Virtual Reality offers many important opportunities. Indeed, an increasing number of their customers have embraced the Smart Factory concept, in other words the use of advanced CAD systems as well as data-driven manufacturing. With this, the core of the tooling industry has shifted from simple machining technology to more sophisticated and advanced horizontal / vertical machining centers, Computer Numerical Control and multitasking part processing, making it an increasingly complex environment that Virtual Reality can help navigate.

In 2080, one third of the European population will be 65 or older. For smart factories through the path of the Industry 4.0, it means having a “good” workplace is not enough, and its design should anticipate the preservation of the operator’s wellbeing. Therefore, the working environment for modern manufacturing workplaces must allow for the best productivity and quality outputs, while offering a secure environment for the workers.