Eyes wide open: how augmented reality is blurring boundaries ...

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product development and in information management,. Konica Minolta is working on first-generation wearable smart glasses
Eyes wide open: how augmented reality is blurring boundaries between the digital and the physical Augmented reality for industrial applications

Eyes wide open: how augmented reality is blurring boundaries between the digital and the physical

In the past decade, human life has taken on an extra dimension. The digital world has opened up to reveal previously unknown possibilities, first through the screens of our desktop computers and laptops, and now through the mobile devices that we have so readily incorporated into our everyday lives. We are empowered by our hand-held devices; we expect to do more with less and less effort. It seems there is no part of our lives that can’t be enhanced by the wealth of information at our fingertips. But there is a disconnect. Currently, the links between the “real” and “digital” worlds are far from seamless. We ignore the digital world at our peril; yet the more it consumes our attention, the more we struggle to operate efficiently in the moment. In many scenarios, the digital world fails to deliver on our expectations. While this may be only a minor cause for frustration in our personal lives, this disconnect is more prominent – and certainly higher risk – in business and in industry. If we stop considering the digital world as a separate entity to the real world, but rather as just one more facet of it, we begin to glimpse the future. This “augmented” reality is the next logical step in the digital revolution and forms a natural bridge between the physical and the digital worlds.

Konica Minolta | Augmented reality for industrial applications

“It seems there is no part of our lives that can’t be enhanced by the wealth of information at our fingertips.”

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Eyes wide open: how augmented reality is blurring boundaries between the digital and the physical

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Breaking boundaries “Augmented reality will enable people to become more dynamic and active in our own environments; to understand, manipulate and even predict the world around us.” At its simplest level, augmented reality is a technology that superimposes digital content onto the real world, enabling humans to interact with a given scene armed with additional information about objects and the environment. It visualises artificial information and the concealed world around us in the most natural way possible, tapping into “computer” vision techniques for object detection and image recognition. Augmented reality will enable people to become more dynamic and active in our own environments; to understand, manipulate and even predict the world around us. Augmented reality truly enhances the insights and expertise afforded to us by the digital world, allowing us to perform better in every aspect of our lives.

Konica Minolta | Augmented reality for industrial applications

Augmented reality eliminates the disconnects that are such a common characteristic of modern life. Instead of breaking from the task in hand to search for information – to scroll through our smartphone, scan a QR code, access a report or instruction manual – the correct knowledge is served directly into our line of vision, in the correct context, enabling us to deliver greater value to our business or immediate environment. The interface between the physical and digital worlds becomes seamless, without boundaries.

Eyes wide open: how augmented reality is blurring boundaries between the digital and the physical

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Catalyst for change One of the key developments in breaking down the boundary is the ever-shrinking hardware that we use. From a device that was previously fixed to a desk to one we now carry; from something we used to hold to devices that we can now wear, technology is becoming more intrinsic – and much less of a physical interruption – to our day-to-day lives. The hardware associated with augmented reality is only a catalyst for the enormous social shifts that lie ahead. It is augmented reality technology itself that will extend the senses and enhance experiences and it will enable

the automation of next-generation business processes. It will be a golden opportunity for media business and “deskless” working. It is poised to change our lives in all fields and offer opportunities that we can’t even imagine today. Businesses are beginning to sit up and pay attention. This new, two-way communication channel will enable organisations to become more intelligent, cost-efficient and safety-conscious by linking real-time data with real-world experiences.

From a device that was previously fixed to a desk to one we now carry; from something we used to hold to devices that we can now wear.

Konica Minolta | Augmented reality for industrial applications

Eyes wide open: how augmented reality is blurring boundaries between the digital and the physical

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What lies beneath If augmented reality is a means of interacting at a visual level with the environment, then the technology we use to access it must be supported by a platform that connects all underlying systems that inform it. In order for the digital workplace vision to become a reality – for all people to be able to work efficiently wherever and however they choose to – we are creating an industrial-specific operating system that integrates all the various data components delivered by different ecosystem partners: a best-practice, consistent operating system that integrates hardware and software to underpin a set of unique augmented reality solutions, platforms and toolkits that are tailored for different verticals (industry, use-case and more) at an accessible cost. The vision is to have a platform that systematically correlates visual information about the surroundings – such as what the user sees on a paper document, on a tablet or in their broader working environment – with digital knowledge contained in an underlying enterprise database, and always triggering the appropriate response depending on the context and the needs of the user. Additionally, it will integrate multiple-sensor data enabled by the Internet of Things, smart data collected at the semantic layer and the needs of the unique user.

Konica Minolta | Augmented reality for industrial applications

“We must create an industrialspecific operating system that integrates all the various data components delivered by different ecosystem partners.”

The operating system must bring together a combination of technologies to create a seamless experience in the workplace, whether that be a factory, an office, a hospital – or the employee’s home. As a basic example, it will automatically know whether the user is an office employee wanting to find out how many jobs are queued up for a particular printer, or a technician needing to know the precise model of a piece of equipment, the version and the last time it was maintained – then gives the user exactly the information they need.

Eyes wide open: how augmented reality is blurring boundaries between the digital and the physical

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Innovation for industry Konica Minolta has a history of improving business processes by making connections between people, devices and information in order to realise its vision of the “digital workplace”. Augmented reality delivers a natural extension of this vision, enabling us to take account of the physical environment where those people and devices happen to be. Augmented reality blurs the boundaries between people, places and devices, allowing information to flow freely. We believe passionately in the potential of augmented reality in the industrial space. As such, we are investing in state-of-the-art research and technology, and developing solutions that will enhance human decisionmaking to make the workplace more innovative – and ultimately enable a future-proofed dialogue between machines, humans and data.

As everyday machines and devices become “smarter”, their design architecture and internal componentry become more sophisticated and complicated. Naturally, that means it takes more time and money to update employee training and manage the flow of required new knowledge. Augmented reality is the key to streamlining industrial production and improving maintenance cycles. If engineers and maintenance teams can receive real-time information as they work, no matter where they are located, in the most ergonomically efficient way and without ever having to take their eyes off the job in hand, then their skills and time can be optimised. Many enterprises currently give employees mobile devices to access up-to-date information, but the worker must still break from the task to search for information; well-designed wearable augmented reality technology can remove this disconnect.

The digital workplace: making connections between people, devices and information.

Konica Minolta | Augmented reality for industrial applications

Eyes wide open: how augmented reality is blurring boundaries between the digital and the physical

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Giving the green light Leveraging its deep history in innovative optical product development and in information management, Konica Minolta is working on first-generation wearable smart glasses in collaboration with the open-source community associated with computer vision. These will revolutionise the way that equipment maintenance is performed, particularly for safety-critical industries such as aerospace. Traditionally, maintenance is undertaken step-by-step following rigorous training, with a command chain of engineers to check and monitor the work done. By linking up a wealth of relevant information directly with the engineer’s real-time view of the hardware, smart glasses will streamline the process and make the job easier for the engineer in the field. An example of augmented reality in action is in the assembly and maintenance of road traffic lights controllers. Traffic lights are increasingly complex devices; the technicians who maintain them must digest and be able to recall vast amounts of information before they set about their task –

often in noisy, stressful environments and in suboptimal weather and light conditions. If, upon examining the equipment, an error appears for which they are not prepared – or they discover they need a part that they don’t have at hand – the repair is delayed. Wearing augmented reality smart glasses, the technician can access real-time, contextual instructions and support in the form of digital images projected onto the real-world traffic light hardware. They now always know what to do, at the right moment, without leaving their position to search for needed information. The glasses record the procedure and feed back into the maintenance management system to ensure quality control, verify each step, and create a record to prove that the work was performed correctly. There is no need for a camera or a paper manual to get the job done; the technician interacts with the working environment armed with every possible piece of useful information. And technicians around the world tap into the same information system, ensuring a consistent level of service.

“Augmented reality truly enhances the insights and expertise afforded to us by the digital world, allowing us to perform better in every aspect of our lives.”

Konica Minolta | Augmented reality for industrial applications

Eyes wide open: how augmented reality is blurring boundaries between the digital and the physical

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While smart glasses themselves provide the seamless and efficient delivery of information that the technician requires to do the job quickly and safely, without the integrated operating system that underpins it, that value would be greatly reduced. The combination of smart glasses and an integrated augmented reality operating system can also be applied to the maintenance in the automotive industry. In the near future, it may be physically impossible to create a paper manual for many types of car, whose internal systems will advance to be incredibly complex. From a consumer perspective, augmented reality brings an added bonus of customer loyalty – maintenance data can be shared in real time with the car owner.

“Augmented reality in wearable form will revolutionise working lives and business productivity.” Konica Minolta also expects to see wearable augmented reality become a fundamental aspect of future healthcare; doctors will use the technology to supplement their knowledge, to help diagnose diseases and provide expert guidance for intricate and complex surgical procedures.

Konica Minolta | Augmented reality for industrial applications

Consumers and businesses have both readily incorporated mobile devices into their lives, but have so far been broadly resistant to the idea of wearables. This is set to change as the technology becomes more accessible, pervasive and easier to use – and they realise the benefits of a single, seamless view of a wealth of data. Augmented reality in combination with wearable devices will revolutionise working lives and business productivity, significantly increasing efficiency, improving the quality of work and eliminating simple human errors.

Eyes wide open: how augmented reality is blurring boundaries between the digital and the physical

Human at the core

Crucial to all of these developments is the imperative that human skills are enhanced – and never threatened – by advancing technology. Augmented reality helps people to perform their roles more accurately, conveniently and safely than they presently do, ensuring that businesses can provide the highest levels of quality their customers expect. Within enterprises and in the wider world, useful and essential processes – such as safety, learning, maintenance and more – can be time-consuming and troublesome. Augmented reality helps employees to move those processes out of the way, completing them quickly and efficiently and freeing businesses to focus on more creative and innovative functions. We believe this is a cause for real optimism about the convergence of human and machine, and the key to keeping people at the heart of industrial processes.

Konica Minolta | Augmented reality for industrial applications

“Augmented reality helps employees to move those processes out of the way, completing them quickly and efficiently and freeing businesses to focus on more creative and innovative functions.”

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Eyes wide open: how augmented reality is blurring boundaries between the digital and the physical

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Open innovation Augmented reality is just the tip of the iceberg; as discussed, if we want to realise a future where human, data and machines work together seamlessly, the operating system behind it is crucial. Technologies must work together and interact with the unique user in the appropriate context. There must be a strong link between the teams developing the necessary information and the people using this data to execute their tasks: the raw information provided must be accurate and up-to-date. And there must be a feedback loop to record and analyse the work done. Every client’s challenge is different, and no single technology provider can address every use case alone: collaboration and open innovation are key. A coherent operating system that will enable a seamless experience across all use cases is only possible if business and IT partners work together on these solutions. Konica Minolta is perfectly positioned to be an integrator in the process of creating an augmented reality operating system, with its heritage in engineering at scale, expertise in optics and in information management targeted to the end-user, deep understanding of client challenges – and its connections with multi-skilled partners from across the technology and business spectrum.

Konica Minolta | Augmented reality for industrial applications

“A coherent operating system that will enable a seamless experience across all use cases is only possible if business and IT partners work together on these solutions.”

Talk to us Konica Minolta is working hard to make business better for its clients through innovations in augmented reality. We believe in the power of many, so we would like to hear from others who are also exploring and developing technologies and services in this area. konicaminolta.eu bic.konicaminolta.eu

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