XR Use Case Deep Dive 1 : Guided Work Instruction
This article marks the beginning of a series exploring key use cases for XR technologies. It will feature commentary and video clips of software solutions to enhance the understanding of each use case. The examples are drawn from solutions with which I am acquainted. However, the intention is not to endorse any specific solution, as the optimal choice is highly dependent on individual use cases, the company, the operational environment, and the users. With the rapid growth in the availability of XR software solutions, it's crucial to select the one that best fits your unique needs and context.
When we think about business use cases where XR will bring significant benefit Immersive or Spatial Collaboration immediately comes to mind as discussed in my article XR and Metaverse are enablers for a new era of Collaboration. However Guided Work Instruction can bring significant benefits to many industries and when integrated with collaboration capabilities this can be a very powerful capability.
Some of the high level business benefits of XR Guided Work Instruction are illustrated in the table below.
High Level Business Benefits of XR Guided Work Instruction Applications
The market offers numerous software solutions for developing XR Guided Work Instructions. These applications differ in their capabilities, enabling the implementation of features from simple to complex.
Simple Guided Work Instructions can be built usually using DIY tools and constructed with citizen development, requiring very little training to use. These solutions would allow hands free access to step by step instructions and links to documentation such as manuals, diagrams simple CAD based holograms and annotated images. Such tools often allow integration with XR collaboration solutions to allow collaborative execution with subject matter experts.
More Complex Guided Work Instructions would include those that involve:
more complex, detailed holographic animations
integration with back end applications to anchor data to real world components
the provision of more complex Augmented Reality overlays to bring elements of situational awareness or way-finding to the Guided Work Instruction
orchestration of requests/integrations to IoT, AI, Digital Twin or Machine Vision Platforms to compliment the execution of the procedure
Lets look at some examples of these solutions.
Simple Guided Work Instructions Solution Examples
An example of this type of solution would be PTC’s Expert Capture (Part of the PTC Vuforia Platform) where users can build their own Simple Guided Work Instruction without the need of any IT Skills with a simple Record, Edit, Deploy and Analyse approach, and can be deployed on a wide range of endpoints.
Another Example is Microsoft Dynamics 365 Guides, again allows the development of procedures without IT skills and can be deployed on Hololens and some mobile devices.
Both of the solutions above are targeted to build experiences without the need for significant IT skills, and can be used to conduct relatively simple procedures.
Complex Guided Work Instructions Solution Examples
An example of this type of solution would be PTC’s Vuforia Studio (Part of the PTC Vuforia Platform) the use of this component requires some IT skills in areas such as JavaScript, CSS and potentially PTC ThingWorx Industrial IoT platform depending on the requirements of the experience being designed.
When building Guided Work Instructions Solutions there are some key considerations that require attention:
Procedures Change: Rarely does a procedure, workflow or instruction remain static. over time they all change. This may be due to equipment changes or upgrades, improvements in best practices, compliance changes etc.
Legacy Applications: It is highly likely that Workflow Applications already exist in your landscape that are currently used to execute the work instruction or standard operating procedure in a step by step approach. These solutions may not guide the user through the process as well as Guided Work Instruction Solutions, however it is likely that they will still be used in parallel to the XR Experience that is being built. It is therefore important to consider if these workflows will be duplicated (or ingested) into a Guided Work Instruction solution, or whether there is some sort of integration built with these legacy applications. When building Guided Work Instruction/Workflow solutions it is important to consider how they will be kept up to date and the costs and resources associated with this.
Cross Discipline Workflows: Workflows frequently encompass various individuals from multiple disciplines. Often, these individuals may not utilise XR devices, necessitating a method to synchronise steps across disciplines with participants using diverse endpoints. Alternatively, the workflow could be divided into multiple parts, supported by collaborative steps, to transfer control among individuals engaged in a broader initiative.
Data Requirements: Many procedures/workflows require data to proceed from one step to another. For example, a particular step to open a valve may only be possible when the pressure is below a certain level; so its necessary to feed the live pressure reading into the Guided Work Instruction, or possibly prevent the user from progressing through the steps before the pressure is below the relevant value. In addition consideration must be given to the data created by a Guided Work Instruction. This data may range from simple status updates, to more complex data relating to observations during the procedure, or notifications/updates to back end applications.
Functional Integration: It may be necessary to conduct other types of functional integration, and these requests may need to be orchestrated across multiple platforms. For example calling AI Routines for LLM integration, Machine Vision capabilities or calls to IoT platform functionality. These can make AR Guided Work Instructions much richer and add considerable value to the experience being developed.
Integrating and orchestrating requests into Guided Work Instructions from Digital Twin Applications, AI and IoT platforms can bring significant benefits to organisations. See the video below for an overview of some of the benefits:
With all XR Solutions, selecting Endpoint Agnostic options is crucial. Workers need the flexibility to choose an endpoint that aligns with their specific needs and environment. Moreover, as new XR Endpoints with enhanced features and improved form factors are released more frequently, it's vital to ensure that your investments in XR software solutions are compatible with a spectrum of existing and forthcoming hardware. I will elaborate on the significance of Endpoint Agnosticism in an upcoming blog post.
In summary XR Guided Work Instructions can:
Improve Efficiency
Improve Safety
Improve Compliance
Enable a more flexible workforce facilitating multi-skilling
Allow data to be captured to support work process optimisation
Help to bridge skills gaps
Reduce production impacting errors
Improve Training Effectiveness
Improve Employee Satisfaction
Harness the advantages of Digital Twin, AI, IoT, ERP, and other platforms to create a unique, context-driven user experience that unlocks extra value from existing IT investments.
XR Guided Work Instruction solutions can bring significant benefits to an organisation if an appropriate solution is chosen and implemented in the right way.
Please note that the opinions specified here are my own and may not reflect the views of my employer.