Technological and cultural shifts that result in enhancements in manufacturing tend to increase complexity in products and processes. In turn, this complexity increases requirements in manufacturing and puts added pressure on organizations to squeeze out inefficiencies and lower costs where and when feasible.
This trend is acute in aerospace, where complexity, quality and safety require a large portion of final assembly to be done by humans. Corporations like AREA member Boeing are finding ways to improve assembly workflows by making tasks easier and faster to perform with less errors.
At ARise ’15, Paul Davies of Boeing presented a wing assembly study in collaboration with Iowa State University, showing dramatic differences in performance when complex tasks are performed following 2D work instructions versus Augmented Reality.
A Study in Efficiency
In the study, three control groups were asked to assemble parts of a wing, which required over 50 steps to assemble nearly 30 different parts. Each group performed the task using three different modes of work instruction:
A desktop computer screen displaying a work instruction PDF file. The computer was immobile and sat in the corner of the room away from the assembly area.
A mobile tablet displaying a work instruction PDF file, which participants could carry with them. A mobile tablet displaying Augmented Reality software showing the work instructions as guided steps with graphical overlays. A four-camera infrared tracking system provided high-precision motion tracking for accurate alignment of the AR models with the real world.
Subjects assembled the wing twice; during the first attempt, observers measured first time quality (see below) before disassembling the wing and having participants reassemble it to measure the effectiveness of instructions on the learning curve.
Participants’ movements and activities were recorded using four webcams positioned around the work cell. In addition, they wore a plastic helmet with reflective tracker balls that allowed optical tracking of head position and orientation in order for researchers to visualize data about how tasks were fulfilled. Tracker balls were also attached to the tablet (in both AR and non-AR modes).
2014 has certainly been the year for augmented reality. On September 8, exactly eight months after its launch, the augmented reality community met at the NUMA offices in Paris, to work together on approved priorities for action.
Since January 8, the members of this community have further developed the Plan for a New Industrial France by setting the priorities for action and defining the innovative applications associated with augmented reality. “The roadmap set out by the government at the beginning of 2014 was approved on June 4 by the steering committee chaired by the Minister,” says Vincent Marcatté, Director of Open Innovation at Orange Labs, chair of the Images & Networks cluster and lead on the augmented reality plan.
At the meeting held on September 8, Vincent Marcatté outlined the main features of the current French landscape into which augmented reality is emerging: “there are clearly opportunities on the world market,” he explained. “But to make them happen, we need to facilitate meetings between the stakeholders who are experts in the technology and applications, and all the market sectors that will use augmented reality to boost their competitiveness. Augmented reality will feed into every sector of the economy.”
Laure Duchaussoy, from the DGE (The French Directorate General for Enterprise), emphasized: “Augmented reality will have a significant impact on practices in the cultural, industrial and health sectors, in e-education, digital content, online commerce, video games, etc., all of which are promising avenues for development. We need to build partnerships to make these initiatives a reality, and this is why we have recommended launching a call for expression of interest in setting up these new projects.”
Vincent Marcatté added: “It is also an issue of data sovereignty and it is essential that we are able to play a key role along the whole of the augmented reality value chain, from creating content, through mediation, to installing applications on new terminals. We need to pool our efforts to be more competitive, to speed up the technological switchover, to make more widespread use of augmented reality and to communicate our expertise and successes.” “This is what will kickstart this sector,” he concludes.
Nintendo and The Pokémon Company teamed up with former Google game studio Niantic on an augmented reality project, complete with a wearable Poké Ball that just might be the next best thing to filling Pokédex with pocket monsters. The trio announced Pokémon GO late last week.
Nintendo brought its publishing power, The Pokémon Company committed its intellectual property, and Niantic supplied its augmented reality gaming platform for the new game: Pokémon GO.
Pokémon GO players will have the opportunity to catch, trade and battle Pokémon characters wandering the wilds of the real world when the game launches on iOS and Android next year.
The gang of game makers set out to create a mobile experience that "expressed the core values of Pokémon," said Tsunekazu Ishihara, CEO of The Pokémon Company.
"Pokémon GO is the answer to that challenge," he added.
The Pokémon company previously released a trading card game for iOS devices. However, Pokémon GO takes the core Pokémon experience and builds it out into an experience that has a solid chance of attracting newcomers to the franchise, said Christine Arrington, senior analyst of games at his Technology.
"Bringing the property out of the Nintendo environment to iOS and Google Play exposes Pokémon to exponentially more potential players than ever before," she told TechNewsWorld.
The Reality of AR Adoption
Leveraging augmented reality for Pokémon GO’s core gameplay may produce notable success. However, it could be an isolated case, with mobile AR games failing to come anywhere close to broad acceptance.
The outlook for AR in general is "fairly cautious," said Arrington. The first crop of AR games released in the mid-2000s didn’t exactly catch on and failed to inspire consumers to believe that the technology was ready.
Things have changed, though. Smartphones have changed.
"Niantic has been quite successful in attracting a dedicated following for Ingress," Arrington said. "Now they have a very well-known property, with a huge nostalgia factor, people who are familiar with the AR hide-and-seek games from the 2000s, and years of experience with their own game."
Niantic’s rising profile has placed it in position to find success with yet another AR game, she suggested. "However, that doesn’t mean everyone who jumps on the bandwagon and produces copycat games will see the same potential."
Mobile AR and VR
Niantic’s latest augmented reality game appeared as unexpectedly as a wild Pokémon — especially considering Google had just sheared off the company, leaving it to stand alone inside holdings company Alphabet.
Though Niantic is the only major player in the mobile AR space, the sector has a solid chance of becoming mainstream and could have more success that mobile VR did early on, observed Iowa State University’s Eliot Winer, associate director of the university’s Virtual Reality Applications Center.
"AR allows people to interact with real and virtual objects," he pointed out. "This provides a sense of familiarity and security that users like."
There is a broader range of devices that can support mobile AR apps, Winer told TechNewsWorld. On top of that, mobile AR doesn’t require nearly as much graphical processing power as mobile VR software. Camera apps are relatively lightweight nowadays.
"Mobile VR still needs to provide better and better graphics, sound, and some touch — such as rumble pads — to truly takeoff," he said. "However, in looking at how gaming systems have progressed over the last 15-20 years, I think it is achievable. So, while I give the edge to mobile AR, mobile VR is right there also."
The U.S. Marine Corps’ augmented reality training system was tested in a live-fire exercise for the first time last month. And while that blend of actual ordnance and digitized overlays went well, USMC officials said the system’s real value is the realistic training that can come without real-world explosions and air support.
While a test of the Augmented Immersive Team Trainer in May took place on a golf course with AITT-supplied virtual tanks, mortar fire and smoke from explosions, the field portion of an Aug. 5-6 “call-for-fire” training included actual aircraft and munitions. Those elements are “an important part of the training experience for the student officers,” ONR said, but are costly and time-consuming to set up, staff and execute.
The AITT system, on the other hand, “makes the training easier and eliminates the maintenance issues or weather-related restrictions that can pare down or cancel training,” said Maj. George Flynn, director of the Infantry Officer Course. “For instance, this system can use virtual air support, so even if it’s raining, the students can still be training, getting confidence and learning the points of employing aviation assets.”
Developed by the Office of Naval Research, the AITT system consists of a laptop, software, battery pack and a helmet-mounted display. It supports live, cutting-edge training scenarios by combining the physical domain with the virtual by superimposing images of ground vehicles, aircraft or munitions into a real environment.
“This affordable lightweight system can be taken anywhere — turning any environment into a training ground — and could be used to prepare Marines for real-world situations and environments they will face,” said Brig. Gen. Julian Alford, vice chief of naval research and commanding general of the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory.
The use of virtual effects also makes it easier for student to picture the situation. “Rather than having the instructor paint a picture to the student without anything happening, now the student can get a visual of the aircraft they’ve been controlling in support of a maneuver on the deck,” said Flynn.
Augmented reality also sidesteps problems associated with lengthy wait times for range time – in some cases, six to 12 months –as well as costly munitions and fuel spent for large weapons systems.
The AITT program will wrap up in October with a large-scale demonstration at Quantico, Va. Pending the results of a Marine Corps assessment, the program will transition to the Marine Corps Program Manager for Training Systems for further testing and development.
We all know the publishing industry is at a crossroads; just look to the fashion magazine vertical as an example of the upheaval. Fashion publishers are facing the constant challenge to drive reader engagement and identify new monetization opportunities, and titles that aren’t evolving are shutting down. In fact, a total of 21 magazines closed their doors in the first half of 2015, and in the last six months alone, both Lucky and Nylon Guysceased publication of their print offerings.
But it’s not all doom and gloom for the print industry: publishers are reviving their businesses by implementing innovative and creative technologies that drive user engagement and loyalty. Some publishers are employing augmented reality (AR) technology, which allow advertisers to activate both informational and interactive content on top of the print pages, allowing publishers to innovate a previously static medium and revitalize the print industry.
Below are three ways that AR technology is driving value for publishers:
Expanding Advertising Space Today, publishers are no longer confined to the limits of 8×10 pages; they are using AR to supplement, enhance and bring physical content to life via smart devices. Layering digital content on top of print pages solves an age old problem for publishers and advertisers alike: it creates new ad formats for brands and additional monetization opportunities for publishers. This technology allows for magazine readers to learn more about the products that interest them and scan the content to access information, including how and where to buy a product.
Reforming the Print Model These techniques are not only reviving revenue streams for advertisers — they are transforming the print publishing business model. By activating digital content on top of pages, readers can flip through their favorite magazines as they always have, but with the added bonus of being empowered to immediately buy their favorite items from their smart devices. While the traditional process of purchasing items featured in a magazine is a clunky one, often involving readers filling out mail order forms, AR technology allows them to use a mobile device to scan the image and make the purchase seamlessly.
Stylewatch-BlipparThis September’s issue of People StyleWatch featured augmented reality content on every editorial page, allowing users to get immediate access to shopping, style demo GIFs, music via a unique collaboration with PledgeMusic and more. The magazine also allowed users to take a selfie and view themselves on the cover of the magazine, and included exclusive, behind-the-scenes content.
These publishing tools extend to brand campaigns as well. Vogue’s September issue featured interactive Target ads with shoppable content, and by using Shazam’s mobile app, readers could scan the images on their devices, bringing them to pages where they could directly buy the items. With creative technologies like these, publishers are powering a revolution in shopping by activating everyday consumer touchpoints.
Measuring Reader Behavior While tracking user behavior and ROI for ads has previously been an elusive science, AR technology makes analyzing user behavior a simple process. By evaluating data received from these platforms, advertisers can better tailor their future campaigns, targeting demographics and user habits.
In July 2013, This Old House launched an augmented reality contest that ran in its August issue. The magazine asked readers to scan pages of the publication, which brought them to a digital sweepstakes page for a chance to win the products shown in print.
When the campaign ran again in 2014, the publisher saw enormous interaction, with 214 percent growth year-over-year in unique users (87.8K in the second year), and nearly 20K sweepstakes entries in 2014.
Hiwaizi-110It’s clear that the print publishing industry today faces large challenges, but is also poised to take advantage of massive opportunities. With new AR technologies and other innovative techniques, which are beneficial from both monetization and reader engagement perspectives, print media is facing a critical turning point. The mediums that adopt new approaches, enabling readers to interact with content long after issue dates fade, are the ones that will emerge victorious in digital media’s new era.
