Högskolan i Skövde

Augmented reality smart glasses (ARSG) have been available as a commercial product since 2015. Many potential usage areas have been identified, including industrial use. The needs from industry have evolved, with more emphasis being put on sustainability. While ARSG can help improve efficiency and sustainability, there are also similarly associated costs to their implementation and use. This paper aims to present a process for how to choose ARSG for specific use cases as assembly operator support while considering the sustainability of their implementation. A narrative review of the literature was made to identify the current understanding of the environmental impact of ARSG, as well as what has been considered in regards to ARSG being integrated into a manufacturing environment. The analysis of the literature resulted in a proposed decision process. The decision process serves as a baseline for how to guide the decision of whether ARSG could be a suitable solution and, if so, what aspects to consider in the choosing of the ARSG model. Future work includes collaboration with industry to further improve the decision process based on empirical input. 

Augmented reality smart glasses (ARSG) have been successfully used as operator support in production. However, their use is not yet widespread, likely in part due to a lack of knowledge about how to integrate ARSG into production. This lack of knowledge can also make it hard to estimate whether this is a worthwhile investment. Our solution is to provide an online evaluation tool to help production planners estimate the likelihood that ARSG will be worth the investment cost in specific production cases. Based on a strawman design, multiple design iterations were followed by a pilot test performed by participants from different manufacturing companies involved in planning production for operators. A Likert scale survey was used to evaluate the tool. The results show a slightly positive evaluation of the tool with suggestions for improvement, including widening the scope and granularity of the tool. Future works include further iterations and case studies.

Manufacturing industry is seeing vast improvements in productivity and flexibility as the fourth industrial revolution continues to unfold. However, despite improved computation and automation capacity, there is still a role for operators to play in Industry 4.0, mirrored in the concept of Operator 4.0. Improved productivity and a more competitive global market have contributed to increasing manufacturing complexity, putting greater cognitive demands on operators. A technology that can support operators in this new manufacturing landscape is augmented reality (AR), specifically, headworn AR smart glasses (ARSG). With ARSG, operators can receive information interactively in real time, hands free and overlying their natural environment. ARSG are an emerging technology that is becoming more mature; there are early examples of their use in manufacturing industry, but ARSG are not yet widespread.

Because ARSG are an emerging technology, there is still uncertainty as to how ARSG can be integrated, like other production equipment, in assembly lines. When current literature was analyzed, it was found that there is a need for more knowledge particularly from the manufacturing engineering perspective of practically integrating ARSG on the industrial shop floor in the long term. This thesis therefore aims to create a framework that supports industry in making strategic and practical decisions about integrating ARSG in production as an assembly operator support tool. The framework is designed to guide industrial decision makers in evaluating the suitability of ARSG as support in an assembly station and, further to offer specific recommendations and rationales for actions to take. It has two main perspectives: the operators using the ARSG and the manufacturing engineers conducting the integration into the production systems. The framework was iteratively developed, using design science combining qualitative and quantitative methods into mixed methods. Three research questions were developed and answered as steps toward creating and evaluating the framework.

The results of the thesis show that ARSG integration should be considered in relation to the investment cost and efficiency gains. For instance, ARSG requires the digitalization of assembly instructions before it can be feasible. If operators are mostly stationary when working and have little need for spatial guidance, there might be cheaper alternatives to ARSG, such as monitors or pick-by-light, that merit prior consideration. The framework has been developed and tested iteratively with industrial experts from different fields, with the initial strawman design based on three literature reviews and previous research.

Tillverkningsindustrin ser omfattande förbättringar i produktivitet och flexibilitet när den fjärde industriella revolutionen fortsätter att vecklas ut. Men trots förbättrad beräknings- och automationskapacitet så finns det fortfarande en roll för operatörer i Industri 4.0, vilket speglas i konceptet Operatör 4.0. Ökad produktivitet och mer konkurrens på en global marknad har bidragit till att öka tillverkningens komplexitet och de kognitiva krav som sätts på operatörer. En teknologi som kan stödja operatörer i det nya produktionslandskapet är förstärkt verklighet (engelska ”augmented reality, AR), specifikt den huvudburna varianten i formen av smarta AR glasögon (ARSG). Med ARSG kan operatörer ta emot information interaktivt, i realtid, överlagt på deras verkliga miljö och utan att behöva använda händerna. ARSG är en framväxande teknologi som blir alltmer mogen och det finns tidiga exempel på där de används inom tillverkningsindustrin; men ARSG är ännu inte vitt spridda.

I och med att ARSG är en framväxande teknologi så finns det fortfarande osäkerhet kring hur ARSG kan integreras likt annan produktionsutrustning i monteringslinjer. När den aktuella litteraturen analyserades så identifierades det ett behov av mer kunskap relaterat speciellt till beredningsperspektivet, att praktiskt integrera ARSG på industrigolvet i ett långt perspektiv. Målet med den här avhandlingen är därför att skapa ett ramverk som stödjer industrin i strategiska och praktiska beslut i integrering av ARSG i produktion som ett stödverktyg för monteringsoperatörer. Ramverket är designat för att vägleda industriella beslutsfattare i utvärderingen av lämpligheten av ARSG som stöd i en monteringsstation och att vidare ge specifika rekommendationer och motiveringar för handlingar att utföra. Det har två huvudperspektiv, operatörerna som använder ARSG och beredarna som utför integrationsarbetet in i produktionssystemen. Ramverket utvecklades iterativt genom användande av designvetenskap och kombinerandet av kvalitativa och kvantitative metoder till blandade metoder. Tre forskningsfrågor utvecklades och besvarades som steg mot att skapa och utvärdera ramverket.

Resultaten från avhandlingen visar att ARSG integrering ska övervägas i relation till kostnaden för investeringen och den ökade effektiviteten. Till exempel kräver ARSG digitaliserade instruktioner för att kunna användas. Om operatörer främst är stationära och har litet behov av spatial vägledning så kan det finnas billigare alternativ till ARSG, som bildskärmar eller ”pick-by-light,” som först ska övervägas. Ramverket har utvecklats och testats iterativt med industriella experter from olika områden och med en initial halmgubbedesign baserad i tre litteraturstudier och tidigare forskning.

Augmented reality smart glasses (ARSG) have been identified as relevant support tools for the Operator 4.0 paradigm. Although ARSG are starting to be used in industry, their use is not yet widespread. A previously developed online tool based on a framework for evaluating ARSG as assembly operator support is iteratively improved in this paper with expanded functionality. The added functionality consists of practical recommendations for implementing ARSG in production. These recommendations were produced with the help of five focus groups of industrial representatives working in production. The recommendations were evaluated using case studies at three different companies. The recommendations were found to be detailed and a good support for the process of considering ARSG integration into production. The companies overall found the tool and its recommendations to be relevant and correct for their cases.

Operators are likely to continue to play an integral part in industrial assembly for the foreseeable future. This is in part because increasingly shorter life-cycles and increased variety of products makes automation harder to achieve. As technological advancements enables greater digitalization, the demands for increased individual designs of products increases. These changes, combined with a global competition, does put an increasing strain on operators to handle large quantities of information in a short timeframe. Augmented reality (AR) has been identified as a technology that can present assembly information to operators in an efficient manner. AR smart glasses (ARSG) is an implementation of AR suitable for operators since they are hands-free and can provide individual instructions in the correct context directly in their real work environment. There are currently early adopters of ARSG in production within industry and there are many predictions that ARSG usage will continue to grow. However, to fully integrate ARSG as a tool among others in a modern and complex factory there are several perspectives that a company need to take into consideration. This thesis investigates both the operator perspective and the manufacturing engineering perspective to support industry in how to make the correct investment decisions as regards to ARSG.

The aim of this licentiate thesis is to provide a basis for a framework to enable industry to choose and integrate ARSG in production as a value adding operator support. This is achieved by investigating the theoretical basis of ARSG related technology and its maturity as well as the needs operators have in ARSG for their usage in assembly. The philosophical paradigm that is followed is that of pragmatism. The methodology used is design science, set in the research paradigm of mixed methods. Data has been collected through experiments with demonstrators, interviews, observations, and literature reviews. This thesis provides partial answers to the overall research aim.

The thesis shows that the topic is feasible, relevant to industry, and a novel scientific contribution. Observations, interviews, and a literature review gave an overview of the operator perspective. Some highlights from the results are that operators are willing to work with ARSG, that operators need help in unlearning old tasks as well as learning new ones, and that optimal weight distribution of ARSG is dependent on the operators’ head-positioning. Highlights from the preliminary findings for the manufacturing engineering perspective include a general lack of standards for AR as regards vertical industrial application, improved tools for faster instruction generation, and large variations in specifications of available ARSG.

Future work includes a complete answer to the manufacturing engineering perspective as well as combining all the results to create a framework for ARSG integration in industry.

Operatörer kommer sannolikt fortsätta att vara en integral del av industriell montering inom en överskådlig framtid. Detta beror delvis på allt kortare livscykler och ökad variation på produkter gör det svårare att automatisera produktionen. Samtidigt som tekniska framsteg möjliggör mer digitalisering så ökar efterfrågan på individuellt designade produkter. De här förändringarna, i kombination med en global konkurrens, skapar en ökad press på operatörer att hantera stora mängder information inom en kort tidsram. Förstärkt verklighet (förkortat AR från engelska ”augmented reality”) har identifierats som en teknologi som effektivt kan presentera monteringsinstruktioner för operatörer. Smarta AR glasögon (förkortat ARSG från engelska ”AR smart glasses”) är en implementering av AR som är lämplig för operatörer eftersom de inte behöver använda sina händer för att bära dem och för att de kan presentera individuella instruktioner i rätt kontext direkt i deras verkliga arbetsmiljö. Det finns industriföretag som redan har börjat använda ARSG i produktion och det finns många förutsägelser om att ARSG kommer fortsätta att växa. För att kunna fullt integrera ARSG som ett bland många verktyg i en modern och komplex fabrik så måste dock ett företag ta hänsyn till ett flertal perspektiv. Den här avhandlingen undersöker både operatörs-perspektivet och beredningsperspektivet för att stödja industrins investeringsbeslut rörande ARSG.

Målet med den här licentiatavhandlingen är att bidra med en grund för ett ramverk som kan möjliggöra för industrin att välja, integrera och underhålla ARSG i produktion som ett värdeskapande operatörsstöd. Det här åstadkoms genom att undersöka den teoretiska grunden för ARSG-relaterad teknologi och dess mognad och även operatörernas behov i ARSG när de används i montering. Det filosofiska paradigm som har följts är pragmatism. Metodologin som har används är designvetenskap, kopplat till forskningsparadigmet blandade metoder. Data har samlats in genom demonstratorexperiment, intervjuer, observationer och litteraturstudier. Den här avhandlingen ger partiellt svar till det övergripande forskningsmålet.

Avhandlingen visar att ämnet är möjligt att genomföra, relevant för industrin och ett originellt vetenskapligt bidrag. Observationer, intervjuer och en litteraturstudie gav en översikt av operatörsperspektivet. Några exempel från resultaten att lyfta fram är att operatörer är villiga att arbeta med ARSG, att operatörer behöver hjälp med att avlära sig gamla uppgifter såväl som att lära sig nya och att den optimala viktspridningen av ARSG beror på operatörernas huvudpositionering. Bland de preliminära resultaten från beredningsperspektivet inkluderas en generell avsaknad av standarder för AR gällande vertikala industriella tillämpningar, förbättrade verktyg för instruktionsskapande som stödjer snabbare instruktionsgenerering och stora variationer gällande specifikationer i tillgängliga ARSG.

Framtida arbete inkluderar ett komplett svar till beredningsperspektivet samt att kombinera alla resultaten för att skapa ett ramverk för ARSG integration i industrin.

The aim of this paper is to give an overview of the current knowledge and future challenges of augmented reality smart glasses (ARSG) for use by industrial operators. This is accomplished through a survey of the operator perspective of ARSG for industrial application, aiming for faster implementation of ARSG for operators in manufacturing. The survey considers the categories assembly instructions, human factors, design, support, and training from the operator perspective to provide insights for efficient use of ARSG in production. The main findings include a lack of standards in the design of assembly instructions, the field of view of ARSG are limited, and the guidelines for designing instructions focus on presenting context-relevant information and limiting the disturbance of reality. Furthermore, operator task routine is becoming more difficult to achieve and testing has mainly been with non-operator testers and overly simplified tasks. Future challenges identified from the review include: longitudinal user-tests of ARSG, a deeper evaluation of how to distribute the weight of ARSG, further improvement of the sensors and visual recognition to facilitate better interaction, and task complexity is likely to increase.

This article aims to provide a better understanding of Augmented Reality Smart Glasses (ARSG) for assembly operators from two perspectives, namely, manufacturing engineering and technological maturity. A literature survey considers both these perspectives of ARSG. The article's contribution is an investigation of the current status as well as challenges for future development of ARSG regarding usage in the manufacturing industry in relation to the two perspectives. This survey thereby facilitate a better future integration of ARSG in manufacturing. Findings include that commercially available ARSG differ considerably in their hardware specifications. The Technological Readiness Level (TRL) of some of the components of ARSG is still low, with displays having a TRL of 7 and tracking a TRL of 5. A mapping of tracking technologies and their suitability for industrial ARSG was done and identified Bluetooth, micro-electro mechanical sensors (MEMS) and infrared sensors as potentially suitable technologies to improve tracking. Future work identified is to also explore the operator perspective of ARSG in manufacturing. © 2020

Augmented reality smart glasses (ARSG) are an emerging technology that has the potential to revolutionize how operators interact with information in cyber-physical systems. However, augmented reality is currently not widespread in industrial assembly. The aim of this paper is to investigate and map ARSG in manufacturing from the perspectives of the operator, of manufacturing engineering, and of its technological maturity. This mapping provides an overview of topics relevant to enabling the implementation of ARSG in a manufacturing system, thus facilitating future exploration of the three perspectives. This investigation was done using a meta-analysis of literature reviews of applications of augmented reality in industrial manufacturing. The meta-analysis categorized previously identified topics within augmented reality in industrial manufacturing and mapped those to the scope of the three perspectives.

Augmented Reality (AR) has shown its potential in supporting operators in manufacturing. AR-glasses as a platform both in industrial use are emerging markets, thereby making portable and hands-free AR more and more feasible. An important aspect of integrating AR as a support tool for operators is their acceptance of the technology. This paper presents the results of interviewing operators regarding their view on AR technology in their field and observing them working in automotive engine assembly and how they interact with current instructions. The observations and follow-up questions identified three main aspects of the information that the operators looked at: validating screw torque, their current assembly time, and if something went wrong. The interviews showed that a large amount of the operators were positive towards using AR in assembly. This has given an insight in both the current information interaction the operators do and their view on the potential in using AR. Based on these insights we suggest a mock-up design of an AR-interface for engine assembly to serve as a base for future prototype designs.

This paper presents a novel system using Augmented Reality and Expert Systems to enhance the quality and efficiency of shop-floor operators. The novel system proposed provides an adaptive tool that facilitates and enhances support on the shop-floor, due to its ability to dynamically customize the instructions displayed, dependent upon the competence of the user. A comparative study has been made between an existing method of quality control instructions at a machining line in an automotive engine plant and this novel system. It has been shown that the new approach outcompetes the existing system, not only in terms of perceived usability but also with respect to two other important shop-floor variables: quality and productivity. Along with previous research, the outcomes of these test cases indicate the value of using Augmented Reality technology to enhance shop-floor operators’ ability to learn and master new tasks.