Made Smarter is using smart glasses to make possible virtual factory tours as part of its drive to help small and medium companies adopt digital technologies.
The wearable devices are used to stream video from a client’s plant, allowing technology specialists from Made Smarter to perform virtual production line walks as part of a digital transformation workshop. The workshops are led by technology advisers who provide impartial advice to help businesses find the most effective technology to improve their operations.
Advisers dial in to a conference call to watch each manufacturing operation being performed in order. This allows discussions about inputs, outputs, process control, and quality performance. The virtual tours have allowed Made Smarter to overcome access restrictions caused by the pandemic.
Will Kinghorn, industrial digital technology adviser for Made Smarter, said: “In the wake of the pandemic we redesigned our digital transformation workshops to continue delivery when in-person visits were not possible. This approach has helped 141 manufacturers engage in a streamlined process designed to accelerate manufacturing growth by identifying digital tools and technologies that can maximise operational processes. When it comes to how things are made there is no substitute for seeing it for yourself, but the use of smart glasses is a fantastic alternative.”
Made Smarter uses different types of smart glasses to suit different requirements, including the Epson Moverio, Realwear HMT-1, Vuzix Blade, and Magic Leap. The glasses come with a 4G dongle to guarantee connectivity if there are Wi-Fi or network coverage problems. They are connected through Remote Eye software which enables live stream video and the ability to take high definition screenshots which can be tagged in a library for swift access.
Viewers can use a cursor to direct the wearer to areas of interest and annotate the picture in real time.
Made Smarter is the UK national industrial digitalisation movement which seeks to improve productivity and growth of manufacturing industries in the fourth Industrial Revolution. It uses digital transformation workshops to identify how the Made Smarter programme can support manufacturers.