IoT and Augmented Reality — a connection, that was meant to be.
Tags: IoT, Internet of Things, AR, Digitalization, Augmented Reality

At the latest since the Bosch commercial “Like-a-Bosch”, the subject of Internet of Things, short IoT, has become a much more familiar and tangible concept to private households in all around.

With the help of IoT, devices, mechanical and digital machines, objects, people or animals are networked with each other and data exchange within a network is possible without the need for human-to-human or human-to-machine interaction. Data of any origin is collected and transformed into information. One problem, however, is that the majority of this data is not used optimally. Standard visualization tools contribute to making it difficult to interpret the enormous amount of data, as they are often inefficient at presenting data from many sources. However, it is of great importance that the data is visualized in a simplified form in order to understand and interpret it.

This is where augmented reality technologies come into play. By complementing Augmented Reality (AR), information can be visualized in an understandable form that is situation specific. Many companies plan to make greater use of AR technologies in the future, some are already using them.

But how can IoT and AR be combined with business benefits?

IoT-AR solutions are most useful in business situations where employees and non-automated systems make some or all decisions and where digital data is needed to interact more effectively with physical objects such as machines and rooms. The combination of IoT and AR helps companies make smarter decisions by presenting large amounts of different, context-specific data combined in a single view.

In the following application areas, AR represents a crucial add-on for companies using IoT, some of which have already been implemented or are in planning.

Education and training with the help of AR

Used correctly, AR can become a powerful tool for addressing skill shortages or closing the skills gap in the long term. Despite increasingly complex requirements, many companies still use the conventional “just-in-case” approach to train employees. Training programs provide the information that a skilled worker might need at some point. The rest is based on the hope that the learners will be able to remember the information on the one hand and apply it correctly on the other. However, with the ever-increasing complexity of work processes, this approach is not enough. New training formats that use AR technology follow a “just-in-time” approach, where information about AR technology is made available exactly when and where it is needed.

This results in reduced training times, faster and more accurate maintenance and development solutions, and better qualification of those involved in the manufacturing process, resulting in increased efficiency, profits and thus the competitiveness of a company.

Manage rooms and inventory

IoT and AR technologies can help companies optimize the use of a warehouse by determining the amount of space that needs to be allocated to high-revenue products, monitoring the condition of the inventory, and identifying aging inventory that needs to be moved out. In addition, employees can be guided through the warehouse in the most efficient way and unnecessary product searches can be reduced. This reduces energy costs, saves time and improves labor productivity.

In addition, AR headsets could use live IoT data from in-store sensors to enable employees to walk through the aisles of a store and identify problems. Alerts could be displayed if products are out of stock, in the wrong location or have the wrong barcode, for example.

Cross-site and resource-efficient operation

IoT-AR solutions help employees make smarter decisions by combining a large amount and variety of context-specific data in a single view. IoT-AR applications can also connect employees with experts at remote locations who can provide real-time guidance. In addition, AR technology makes it possible to perform a repair with text and video on a head-up display. Additionally, safety messages can be displayed to the technician. This means that when the technician is performing the repair, he or she will receive alerts if there is a danger of removing certain components.

Increased performance with IoT and AR

By implementing IoT-AR solutions, companies can achieve a significant increase in labor productivity. The provision of AR-controlled instructions can reduce the time needed for repairs and increase productivity. As remote support reduces the need for expert travel, each specialist can respond to more service requests. Reduce material waste and rework. AR-based instructions, combined with IoT verification, can ensure that repairs are completed the first time, eliminating the need for rework and reordering parts.

The combination of IoT and AR technologies brings many benefits. Be it obvious improvements such as user-friendly visualization of complex, large amounts of data, or more hidden benefits such as less and more efficient training, IoT and AR are a great asset for companies in this highly connected world.