Addressing the Cognitive Gap and Collaborating with XR
In the last edition of 3D Focus we discussed the cognitive gap (the disconnect that comes with viewing 3D models on a 2D screen, and trying to imagine what they’d look like in the real world), and how XR is helping businesses close the gap, by allowing users to visualize their data in a more realistic way.??
In part two of this discussion, we will be exploring further how to close the cognitive gap while also improving collaborative working.?
Collaboration in Engineering and Manufacturing?
Rarely are products completely developed in a single location with the luxury of co-located development teams. The reality of product development today involves collaboration across international borders.?
The engineering skills gap was first highlighted over a decade ago, with a shortage of qualified scientists, engineers, and technicians. As a result, businesses have been forced to locate skills in other locations, setting up their own offshore facilities, or working with Engineering Services Providers (ESPs). As engineering moves away from traditional in-house and supply chain sources, manufacturer’s partnerships with ESPs are evolving from a tactical response to additional capacity, progressing instead to strategic partnerships delivering higher value throughout the entire product realization lifecycle.?
Technology may be a solution to closing Cognitive Distance, but what about improving collaboration when engineering teams can no longer work within the same walls? The realities of globally distributed product development mean that the engineering teams and their customers are increasingly facing the challenge of collaboration at a distance.?
The Next Frontier of Collaboration?
Therefore, the question is: how can businesses can close the cognitive gap, bringing engineers closer to their designs, while simultaneously addressing the realities of collaboration at a distance? While also focusing on the objective of improving the quality and productivity of engineering and manufacturing processes.?
Extended Reality (XR) can be a powerful tool for both better understanding 3D models, and collaborative working. However, it is important that the XR solution is device agnostic i.e. that users are able to visualize their designs on any XR headset or handheld devices like phones and tablets. Businesses may have already made investments in a wide range of different devices, or might be implementing XR across the company for a range of use cases. In these situations, your XR solution must be able to processes and optimize data for use on the many different types of hardware that are being utilized.?
Theorem’s Visualization Pipeline is a server-based technology that enables fast, efficient, flexible, and automated processing of CAD and Visualization data, optimizing 3D data for use in XR. For collaboration to become a reality, data must be made available to all, irrespective of their toolset of choice. The Visualization Pipeline can automatically process data in the background, or on-demand with ‘save as’ and ‘drag and drop’ functionality, removing the need for dedicated data processing teams.?
However, preparing data for visualization is only the first step towards embracing the potential of XR – it is also important to understand what use cases can benefit from XR. Working with early adopters in the Automotive and Aerospace industries, we have identified some key use cases that benefit massively from the collaboration and immersive experience that XR can bring: Design Reviews, and Factory Layout.?
Design Reviews?
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Design reviews are a critical part of the product development lifecycle. Across the globe, engineers meet regularly, and at key program milestones to undertake review activities such as:?
Critically, digital design reviews enable manufacturers to:?
Conducting design reviews in XR enables a group of engineers, local or in remote locations, to interactively review a design through the immersive experience of XR technologies, closing the cognitive distance for all involved, and providing a unique collaborative workspace. Importantly, the review process can be recorded in part or full, capturing comments and issues for use by other members of the extended team (including full management reports). By bringing distributed experts and practitioners together to review, debate and resolve issues in real-time businesses can improve access, save time, and avoid costly travel.??
Factory Layout?
XR can also aid production engineers in the optimization of production facilities. Using an immersive VR experience or anchoring the data in the real world through Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR) technologies, engineers can work at full scale to create and move the components of production facilities, assessing the efficiency of workflow, human and ergonomic design. Different layouts can be explored and saved for wider distribution and review by the extended team.?
By reviewing potential factory layouts in XR engineers can better understand the design and factor in access for maintenance, cleaning, and line-side material handling. All of which can be explored and validated collaboratively before committing to physical resources; reducing the potential for expensive and time-consuming late changes.?
Production operatives are often hampered by late access to physical assets and typically cannot contribute their unique insight into production engineering until late in the new product introduction process. Working in totally immersive or real-world environments, staff can leverage XR to provide upstream feedback, improving the final production design, and once again reducing the potential for expensive and time-consuming late changes.?
Final Thoughts?
It’s common sense that product development and manufacturing engineers should work together to develop a product that performs flawlessly and is manufactured (and assembled) in the most effective way. XR enables distributed groups of engineers to interact through the immersive experience of XR technologies, closing the cognitive distance for all involved, and providing a unique collaborative workspace.?
In the next edition of 3D Focus we will be stepping away from XR and instead exploring 3D PDF, an easy to share form of interactive documentation. We will be discussing the benefits of 3D PDF and answering the question: why should your business be using it? Make sure to subscribe to this newsletter to be notified of new releases.?
If you want to learn more about Extended Reality and how it could be utilized in your business, make sure to talk to our Theorem experts today.