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Hanna Heinonen, responsible for technology and content development in product development and technical communication at Kone, has investigated in her doctoral thesis the opportunities offered by technical communication and augmented reality for industrial companies, especially in the context of the industrial service business. An essential part of her work includes the development of new distribution channels, especially for the needs of the service industry.

The study explored the potential of augmented reality to enhance the service business through both virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).

–More than 150 people from Kone's global organization participated in the user testing of the study. The experts were receptive to the introduction of modern technologies into their daily work and estimated that they would make their work more efficient, says Hanna Heinonen.

Maintenance professionals often work in circumstances where the use of traditional guidance is difficult or impossible. For example, changing a component often requires two hands, making it difficult to manage both paper and mobile instructions. In addition, protective gloves bring their own challenges to the table. It is also crucial that maintenance professionals have easy access to up-to-date information, preferably linked to the equipment being serviced. There is a demand for new distribution methods in the industrial maintenance sector.

"The study showed that modern technologies enable us to provide the right amount of information to everyone from the same source material, making work easier and more efficient," says Hanna Heinonen.

Virtual reality in product development

Until now, industrial companies have mainly used virtual reality for training purposes. Heinonen's study focused on the use of virtual reality in product development in an industrial company, particularly in the process of creating service manuals. In collaborative VR, users in different physical locations work in the same virtual environment and see each other virtually face-to-face. They are in a virtual conference room together or meet on a virtual device. They can examine the device together, take it apart and reassemble it - in effect, acting as if they were physically in the same room.

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Virtual view of the lift

– I found collaborative VR to be particularly effective for global and remote teams. It offers new opportunities to unify virtual teams by creating a sense of cohesion and enhancing internal communication compared to traditional communication tools, such as email or video conferencing. In addition, the use of virtual reality reduces the pressure for experts to travel within global companies and, of course, within Finland. Virtual reality also streamlines the process of creating and reviewing technical documentation at multiple stages, reducing both misunderstandings and iterations, thus making the product development process of industrial companies more efficient.

From paper manuals to smart glasses

Traditionally, user manuals are printed on paper. However, printed instructions in a toolbox or in the back of a van are not necessarily the most efficient way of doing things, because they are not always there when you need them, or they are not up to date. Manuals can even get lost, meaning that carefully guarded maintenance programs can fall into the hands of competitors. Many companies have therefore switched to online portals for distribution, making the instructions accessible from a phone, tablet, or other device. This means that maintenance professionals always have access to the right, up-to-date instructions. However, the use of mobile devices is not always easy when performing maintenance tasks, as often both hands of the maintenance technician are needed to complete the task.

The study looked at the use of smart glasses as a new distribution channel for service instructions. They free up the user's hands to do the work, and in augmented reality, instructions can be followed in real-time as the maintenance task progresses, making work more efficient and reducing the chance of errors. With multi-channel distribution, the same information can be easily exported to different distribution channels, which in turn streamlines the process of publishing technical information and thus the product development process in companies.

Smart glasses free the user's hands to do the work, and in augmented reality, instructions can be followed in real-time as the maintenance task progresses.

The right level of information

– I based my research on the needs of the user and found that maintenance professionals have vastly different needs depending on their background and experience. The more experienced users need no more than a refresher, while the less experienced maintenance worker performing the same task naturally needs more guidance. The move to dynamic predictive maintenance programs also changes the situation, as each maintenance visit is different and even the more experienced maintainers need guidance on what to do with each piece of equipment.

It is important to be able to provide the right level of information for everyone, as too much explanation will frustrate the more experienced,while too little guidance will slow down newcomers and potentially cause incidents.

- The study showed that new technologies allow us to provide everyone with the right amount of information from the same source material, making the job easier and at the same time more efficient. Feedback from users has been incredibly positive.

Promising hardware development

Smart glasses can be controlled by voice commands or hand gestures. Their use is not yet widespread in industrial maintenance due to the weight of the devices, their relatively short battery life, and their price. However, hardware development has been promising in recent years and it is quite possible to see a maintenance worker wearing smart glasses to perform tasks such as escalator maintenance in a shopping centre.

The remote monitoring of equipment and the data it generates will also make it easier to link instructions to the operating situation, providing more accurate information for maintenance professionals.

The introduction of augmented reality is part of a larger shift towards the use of the industrial metaverse in manufacturing companies.

Text KONE | Images: Kone, Freepik