Industrial Wearables Realtime Support using Smart Glasses

Krones’ Argos Augmented Reality Support makes use of live video and audio transmission to instantly connect machine opeators with the company’s expert incase of trouble-shooting, thus bringing production back on line as quickly as possible.

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With 2,700 technicians at more than 100 international facilities, Krones is well equipped to provide fast assistance to beverage producers across the globe in terms of maintenance and spare-part replacement or in the event of a complete line standstill. But the coronavirus pandemic has proved a stumbling block for this service set-up: flight cancellations, quarantine regulations or entry bans are rendering it almost impossible to maintain rapid-response service support when it’s necessary. And this at a time when above all the demand not only for packaged water, but also for healthy beverages is rising perceptibly – and supplies to consumers still have to be assured.

In order to provide its clients with direct assistance, the company offers a choice of support packages. To complement the existing round-the-clock support via telephone and remote service, the company has already been offering the Argos Augmented Reality Support since the end of 2018 – and in such exceptional times, the demand for it has been more than ever before.

The ingenious bit about it is this: thanks to what are called smart glasses, the operator at the machine receives immediate assistance from a Krones support specialist – without the latter having to travel, states the company.

The biggest advantage here is that if a problem occurs during ongoing production, the service specialist from the firm can immediately be on site, thanks to the augmented reality support. According to the firm, using live video and audio transmission, the company’s expert is in the midst of the line within just a few seconds, enabling him to instruct the operator and to support him directly and unerringly in terms of trouble-shooting or performing work which is urgently required, thus bringing production back on line as quickly as possible.

If a supporter detects a critical situation, he can visually alert the person wearing the smart glasses, adds the company.

The basic package of the augmented reality support includes not only the smart glasses, but also all associated licences. On request, these can be extended to enable the system to be utilised by the beverage producer himself along with his other vendors. What’s more, an option has recently been introduced for using not only the smart glasses, but also self-chosen models or even certain mobile phones and tablets. This enables the service support team to be integrated even more effectively into the plant’s existing infrastructure.

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