Esko, a global company active in the packaging sector and headquartered in Gent, Belgium, has ordered XMReality Remote Guidance for a period of at least two years.

The main use case is to guide customers and internal field technicians in servicing their advanced packaging and printing machines. The order came after a successful pilot project that evaluated the software, use cases and benefits.

About XMReality Guidance Guidance™

About XMReality Guidance Guidance™

XMReality develops and sells solutions that revolutionizes knowledge sharing through Augmented Reality (AR). The company is a market leader in Remote Guidance, which uses AR to guide onsite staff to enable quick dispositions, resolutions and/or problem prevention. The product is currently used in more than 60 countries. ABB, Nestlé, Electrolux, AB Inbev, Sidel, Hexagon, Bühler and Minibea Intec are some of the more than 90 Enterprise customers. With operations in Sweden and US, XMReality is listed on Nasdaq First North (ticker: XMR). Further information is available under www.xmreality.com

About Esko

Esko, a Danaher company, connects people, processes and tools to meet the needs of global brands and the people who trust them. Esko customers bring consumer products to life with accuracy, efficiency and speed. Packaging for 9 out of 10 major brands is produced by Esko customers today. Headquartered in Gent, Belgium, Esko employs 1800 people worldwide with a unique focus on the packaging sector. Esko is the undisputed global market leader in digital flexo imaging. A globally deployed service staff of more than 500 help improve customer processes and guarantee maximal uptime. Further information is available under www.esko.com/

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Further Reading:

• Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
• Find out more about XM Reality @ xmreality.com
• Learn more about Esko @ www.esko.com
• Follow XM Reality on Twitter @ twitter.com/xmreality
• Follow XM Reality on LinkedIn @ www.linkedin.com/xmreality/

AR firm says service firms affected by virus can use tool free of charge during trial-period.

Augmented reality company XMreality is offering firms impacted by Covid-19 free use of its Remote Guidance Service tool for an extended trial period.

 

Remote Technical Suppport

As the knock-on effect of the virus hits travel logistics - an essential strand of service delivery - experts who take up the offer can effectively provide technical support remotely without having to leave the office or home.

"Being able to provide swift and efficient technical support to customers or colleagues is crucial to the competitiveness of businesses and, in some cases, even for keeping vital infrastructure working," a press release accompanying the announcement read. "XMReality has now decided to help those companies whose operations have been affected by travel restrictions. The solution is already used in over 40 countries, including China. Accessibility is maximized because the recipient does not need any special hardware or software to receive instructions. All you need on site is a mobile phone with internet connection."

Commenting, Johan Castevall, CEO at XMReality said the company were happy to offer assistance during these difficult times for the service industry: “We are pleased to be able to help in a crisis. “We can see that a large number of companies are being hit hard by the effects of the Coronavirus, so we want to support them and facilitate their operations.” 

XMReality's announcement joins others in the service sector who are offering free use of their tools during the pandemic including Augmentir and ServiceMax. The software outfit are allowing new customers to access their real-time communication platform Zinc free of change for three months.

 

More information about XMReality's offer can be found here.

Kris Oldland talks to the team at XMReality whilst at Field Service USA and they give him a demonstration of how their Augmented Reality solution can help field service companies

 

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Want to know more about Augmented Reality and Field Service - check out our Big Discussion on the AR and Field Service here

 

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In this the final week of the first edition of our new series "The Big Discussion" we've now looked at three key questions on the important topic of Augmented Reality.

The idea behind this new series is that we take one topic, bring together three leading area experts and put four key questions to them across four weeks, to help us better understand its potential impact on the field service sector...

Our first topic has been Augmented Reality and our experts are Evyatar Meiron, CEO, Fieldbit, Niklas Rengfors, Head of Sales & Marketing, XM Reality and David Nedohin, President, ScopeAR...

So far we've asked our panel:

"Just how big an impact can and will Augmented Reality have on field service delivery?" , 

"What advantages does Augmented Reality offer over video calls such as FaceTime and Skype etc?" and 

Do you see Augmented Reality ultimately becoming a standard tool included within wider FSM solutions or should it be viewed as a specialist standalone application?

and now onto our final question in our Augmented Reality Big Discussion...

 

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Question Four: How closely tied to the development of smart glasses is augmented reality – are the two co-dependent or are tools on smartphones/tablets sufficient?

Many visualise the ability to have a hands-free environment, where AR information shows up in front of them through smart glasses. However, very few enterprises have yet to adopt and deploy smart glasses, including devices such as Microsoft’s HoloLens, ODG’s R7 or RealWear, at scale. Although these glasses are advancing quickly. adoption of wearables in today’s market can be hindered by price, production and specific product limitations depending on the environment and user.

While hardware manufacturers continue to address these challenges, field workers are starting to reap the benefits of augmented reality using the hardware (smartphones/tablets) currently available to them, and most importantly, that they are comfortable with, while exploring glasses.

With so many AR tools available on today’s smartphones and tablets, enterprises are already realising success without having to make an additional investment in new hardware. With the addition of depth cameras and new computer vision techniques, handheld devices are becoming more and more practical.

 

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Smart glasses are poised to take the world by storm. Leading smart glasses companies (including Microsoft) have already invested billions of dollars in design and development. Clearly, augmented reality is a key driver behind the development of smart glasses.

With respect to field services, it’s important to remember that we’re still at a very early stage. Most smart glasses on the market today cannot support all field service needs. The decision on whether to use smart glasses or a smartphone depends on the industry segment and the use case. For example, when working with ink-filled printing systems or in high-voltage environments, smart glasses are critical for enabling hands-free collaboration.

Another key advantage of smart glasses is that they enable both augmented reality and mixed reality. A hybrid of augmented and virtual reality, mixed reality enables users to overlay digital content onto a realtime physical space in 3D mode for highly realistic interactions.

 

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Development of smart glasses are important but not crucial. For XMReality with core focus on customers within industrial field service, hands-free options, like glasses working in rough environment is something there is a demand for.

However our customers struggle a bite on how to use glasses, there are also so many different preferences on what you like, monocular, binocular so smartphones/tablets are sufficient in most cases and also something one in general carries.

For us it is important to get an understanding on the customers use cases, to recommend what would be their best choice to use.

 

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The next instalment of The Big Discussion will be focussed on the topic of IoT and Servitization is coming soon... 

 

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As we move into week three of our new series we've now addressed a couple of big questions around the core topic of Augmented Reality.

The series is called The Big Discussion and the idea is that we take one topic, bring together three leading experts on that topic and put four key questions to them across four weeks, to help us better understand its potential impact on the field service sector...

On this first topic of Augmented Reality and our experts are Evyatar Meiron, CEO, Fieldbit, Niklas Rengfors, Head of Sales & Marketing, XM Reality and David Nedohin, President, ScopeAR...

So far we've asked our panel  "Just how big an impact can and will Augmented Reality have on field service delivery?" and "What advantages does Augmented Reality offer over video calls such as FaceTime and Skype etc?"

and now onto this weeks question in the Big Discussion...

 

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Question Three: Do you see Augmented Reality ultimately becoming a standard tool included within wider FSM solutions or should it be viewed as a specialist standalone application?

Augmented reality is a communication technology that will be integrated into FSM tools and made available to the workforce to access when and where they need it.

This may be required to meet government regulations, to engage with an expert, or improve competency or safety.

However, AR will be a tool in the toolkit that will be used when needed, and part of a larger set of technologies.

If a picture, voice call or video is appropriate, perhaps AR will not be needed, but as workers become more familiar with the value of AR once integrated into their FSM apps, it will be a tremendous resource, when it is needed.

 

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As mentioned earlier, augmented reality is a disruptive technology that is radically changing the way organisations perform field service maintenance. It is an innovative platform that uses new technologies.

For this reason, augmented reality is more likely in the short term to remain a standalone tool that complements FSM solutions. That said, some of the more basic telesupport-oriented augmented reality features - those that enable real-time remote communications between the onsite technician and the expert at company headquarters - could be integrated at some point with the FSM software.

In contrast, the knowledge management component, including the information capture, storage, sharing and search capabilities, is more complex in nature and requires specific expertise. I believe that this component will continue to develop as a separate specialist system.

 

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Definitely included within wider FSM solutions, we are currently working with different partners already, IFS to mention one is strong partner in field service.

By connecting information flows between systems for example between mobile work orders and XMReality, it adds a lot of value to the customer.

Can be things like storing for documentation purposes, saved videos later then used for training purposes etc. As solutions to display or create content gets more efficient AR will most likely become a standard tool.

 

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Next weeks the final question: How closely tied to the development of smart glasses is augmented reality – are the two co-dependent or are tools on smartphones/tablets sufficient?

 

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Last week we launched a new feature called the Big Discussion where we take one topic, bring together three leading experts on that topic and put four key questions to them across four weeks, to help us better understand its potential impact on the field service sector...

Our first topic is Augmented Reality and our experts are Evyatar Meiron, CEO, Fieldbit, Niklas Rengfors, Head of Sales & Marketing, XM Reality and David Nedohin, President, ScopeAR...

Last weeks question was Just how big an impact can and will Augmented Reality have on field service delivery? Check out our panel's answers here if you missed them

and now onto next weeks question in the Big Discussion

 

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Question Two: What advantages does Augmented Reality offer over video calls such as FaceTime and Skype etc?

Unlike a video call, augmented reality offers the ability to overlay specific content (animated instructions, annotations, drawings, 3D content, graphics, text, etc.) onto the real-world and have it “stick” to the part or area being referenced. Using AR, field workers can visualise content, such as predefined instructions, on top of a piece of equipment they’re assembling or repairing to show exactly the right steps, regardless of previous training.

Another advantage that AR presents is that it facilitates more efficient and effective knowledge transfer from a subject matter expert in real-time -- who may be located at the company’s headquarters or a call center -- to the remote worker. With an AR-enabled video calling platform, an expert can collaborate with a colleague out in the field, seeing what they’re seeing in real-time and simulate an “over-the shoulder” view of having someone walk the field worker through the correct procedure.

For example, while viewing a live video stream of a machine undergoing maintenance, an expert could use augmented reality to circle a bolt in real-time and tell the technician in the field to remove it. And with today’s AR technology, the correct bolt would stay circled even as the technician moves around, allowing for an unprecedented level of interaction between the expert and technician. Instead of just “telling” a worker how to do something, the expert can now “show” them and then document that conversation.

 

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Real-time video can be useful for remote diagnostics, allowing the technician to transmit video from the faulty machine to an expert off-site. Effective field service, however, requires two-way data transfer beyond the capabilities of video.

Augmented reality allows the flow of knowledge from the expert to the technician or user on site. It enables the quick addition of context-sensitive information, such as text annotations, diagrams and other messages, on top of the live video so technicians can zero in on how to fix the machine.

Another key advantage is knowledge capture. Advanced augmented reality platforms, such as Fieldbit, accumulate practical knowledge related to service and repair processes by recording all actions and information exchanged between experts and the field technician.

All visual records, including augmented reality, are stored and are retrievable from a central repository, allowing information to be shared and re-used across the organisation.

 

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At XMReality we are focusing on industrial users and field service. We have taken experience and put it into features that match customer needs.

We have seen impacts on our low bandwidth functionality and also since we add AR, problems are solved quicker and more efficient and more accurate.

The customisation and integration part we offer also comes into play our discussions with our customers.

 

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Next weeks question: Do you see Augmented Reality ultimately becoming a standard tool included within wider FSM solutions or should it be viewed as a specialist standalone application?

 

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In a new series of features we will take one topic, bring together three leading experts on that topic and put four key questions to them across four weeks, to help us better understand its potential impact on the field service sector...

Our first topic is Augmented Reality and our experts are Evyatar Meiron, CEO, Fieldbit, Niklas Rengfors, Head of Sales & Marketing, XM Reality and David Nedohin, President, ScopeAR...

 

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Question One: Just how big an impact can and will Augmented Reality have on field service delivery?

Many analyst firms forecast that the AR market will continue its rapid growth, reaching upwards of $140 billion in just a few years. The impact augmented reality can have on field service specifically is unprecedented as it pertains to training, equipment maintenance or repair and knowledge transfer.

For the first time, augmented reality is allowing field workers to take advantage of the power of computers and interact with them in the real world -- moving from a two dimensional screen to seeing information locked on top of the image of the equipment in the real-world and in real-time. I believe AR will be the user interface of the future, making all of a company’s information, intelligence and analytics actionable, by overlaying content directly on top of the real world - when and where a worker needs it most.

The reason that field service industries will lead in benefitting from AR is due to a combination of an ageing workforce that is retiring at staggering rates, and a younger workforce that changes positions quicker than ever.

Expert knowledge is difficult to retain and even more difficult to get into the hands of those in the field without significant delays and expense. AR allows organisations to retain their experts without sending them into the field, while being able to rapidly leverage and measure the expertise they have by putting it right in the hands of the worker who needs it. Augmented reality is enabling “on-demand knowledge transfer.”

 

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Augmented reality is changing the way people live, work and interact with one another. The introduction of augmented reality for field service represents nothing less than a seismic shift. The magnitude of its potential impact is comparable to the impact that personal computers had on office workers.

FSM solutions address the communication and workflow needs of service managers, allowing them to tell technicians where to go, what problem needs to be fixed, and which spare part to use. Augmented reality platforms complement FSM by telling the technician how to fix the problem.

This was the missing link.

With this capability, enterprises will be able to drastically boost the productivity and efficiency of their field service operations.

Using augmented reality, technicians can receive precise visual instructions from remote experts to execute complex machinery fixes. Not only does this increase first time fix rates, it also relieves mental stress since technicians can enjoy “over-the-shoulder” coaching throughout the process.

 

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We believe it has a big impact already today, business cases show unreal savings by making the field service delivery more efficient, due to less travelling, increased uptime etc.

We also see big drivers at customers in being able to deliver more profitable service offerings and in the end gain more satisfied customers.

 

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Next weeks question: What advantages does Augmented Reality offer over video calls such as FaceTime and Skype etc?

 

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Swedish firm XMReality work with Bosch Rexroth to pioneer new remote service program that utilises smart glasses and augmented reality...

Augmented reality software and smart glasses from Swedish company XMReality have enabled automation and drive system manufacturer Bosch Rexroth to roll out a new service and support programme with remote assistance.

The first Rexroth solution launched for industrial hydraulics is called Hägglunds InSight Live, the support programme involves the client company’s own maintenance team in carrying out adjustments, troubleshooting and emergency work, with guidance from Bosch Rexroth’s systems specialists back at base.

Using the software from XMReality with an ordinary smartphone, tablet or laptop, along with the optional smart glasses, the local service engineer works directly with one of the in-house experts at Bosch Rexroth.

The system was initially used by Bosch Rexroth in Sweden but is now being rolled out in other selected countries. Potentially, any of Bosch Rexroth’s 375,000 (30k+ employees in Rexroth) personnel worldwide can access the system.

“Bosch Rexroth provides world-class services and we constantly strive to implement new and innovative ways to meet and exceed our customers’ expectations.”

“Using XM Reality’s platform, we are now able to offer a remote service portfolio that ensures that help, assistance and our specialist expertise are available for both planned and unplanned situations” commented Rory Moore, Service Business Development Manager - Hägglunds Products

 

“We are proud of now being classified as an Essential Supplier in Bosch global purchasing system” added XMReality´s CEO Johan Castevall. "This is a confirmation of the importance of our Remote Guidance solution in modern industrial way of work.”

The augmented reality smart glasses from XMReality enable hands-free operation during the interaction with the service experts, but the software can also be used with just an ordinary smartphone.

The service expert sees on his screen what the operator sees through the lens. The software transfers video and audio streams between the service expert and the operator with perfect synchronisation, even when the bandwidth is low.

Gestures, drawings or instructions can be overlaid by the instructor on the live image.

The XMReality software is compatible with Windows and Android operating systems. The optional smart glasses, which enable hands-free operation, can be used with prescription glasses or protective smart glasses.

Their 40° field of vision enables the instructor to see the periphery of the image – augmented reality smart glasses can often only offer 15-30° field of vision.

The smart glasses are powered by the tablet or laptop computer and battery life is usually around two hours, depending on battery size.

 

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