Digitalization of frontline workplaces: The Impact of Augmented Reality (AR)??

To look into such an innovative field as augmented reality technology, I would – as counterintuitive as it sounds – propose to take a step back: Let’s take a moment to remember how our world has changed since we were young. Back then, the world was much simpler and has gotten increasingly more complex over the recent decades, and the pace is picking up as we speak.??

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What does this acceleration of change mean for the next generation, our children? Will they still be using pen and paper, or will they express themselves in fully digital formats? How necessary is spelling or knowing the alphabet which our generation of course sees as basic knowledge? Should we shift the focus more to content creation instead of memorization and teach them new methods, like coding, early on??

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Our way into the information age??

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Today, we find the knowledge of the world condensed at a mere fingertip. There are so many things to learn and so much accumulated knowledge that it is virtually impossible to learn everything. Leonardo Da Vinci is said to be one of the last universal geniuses, a polymath, a real Renaissance man, so a person that did in fact manage to master and capture most of the knowledge uncovered and available during their time. But today, even if we focus on a specific field, it is hard if not even impossible to reach levels like he did.?

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The sheer amount of information is unbelievably large, and information is constantly updated or becomes obsolete. To stay on track, we need good basic skills and the right means to consume the latest, up-to-date information at exactly the time you need it – basically knowledge on-demand. Our main challenge here used to be the limited access to knowledge. Now, with the proliferation of the internet and the abundance of information, the main challenge has become navigating the noise and filtering it.?

How tech changes the work landscape?

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As the change, especially in regard to information and technology, over the last couple of years applies to multiple aspects of our life, and it also affects how we work. Since computers of all kinds have taken over office environments, they have become fully digital control centers with all the knowledge always accessible. All colleagues are just one email or instant message away, creating a truly interconnected white-collar workforce. But what about workplaces away from desks? What about the 80% of people who work with their hands to solve real-world problems or produce physical goods out on the shopfloors of this world??

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• Complexity has skyrocketed. Most products today have an enormous complexity built up over decades, may it be technical sophistication or simply the increasing demand for highly individualized products. Simultaneously, the complexity of manufacturing processes has risen.?
• More demanding consumers. This has been the result of the ongoing technological developments to deliver everything instantly: Think of Google Search with its instant access to knowledge and YouTube with its instant how-to-instructions, like a constantly available personal trainer. People nowadays expect leading-edge, individualized products that are intuitive to install and use. Also, expectations of the purchasing and service experience have significantly risen .?
• Workers are retiring and the new workforce has very specific expectations about their jobs and the technology they would like to use. As intellectual property and maybe most importantly, tacit knowledge, is lost to a company with every employee that leaves, transfer of knowledge and experience needs to be seamless, on-the-job, between the retiring frontline workers to the new generation. With the labor shortage, we need more unconventional career entries from people with different fields of expertise and temporary workers. We must get them onboard quickly and be productive while also meeting the quality demands of customers.?

Failure to meet these challenges has a significant business impact – it is costly for the companies to start over with recruiting, onboarding, and training and on top of that, unsatisfied customers due to flawed products or insufficient service drives down revenues.??

At the core of these processes: humans. Keep in mind that we are talking about 80% of the global workforce, which sums up to about 2 billion frontline workers all around the globe.??

Augmented Reality as the catalyst for a more efficient workforce?

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Here is where new technology such as augmented reality (AR) plays a crucial part as a catalyst. We all know the value of technology when it comes to solving our own private everyday issues, or how it has enriched and optimized work in a lot of sectors. But what about the equipment for our frontline workers? What about digitalizing their workplaces? Ideally, we should equip our workforce with the perfect technology to face the challenges we touched upon; it needs to be:?

• Available anytime and anywhere, on-demand as needed. It should move around with the worker as most work beyond desks is mobile, which makes wearable computing the ideal choice. And while wearables are still in the process of reaching the mass market, we see companies using existing phones and tablets to fill the void as a transitional technology.?
• Connected to where the information resides. Usually, the information resides within the enterprise’s databases. Therefore, the technology that we incorporate should be seamlessly connected to the software backend and have real-time access to it. Data can also be collected, e.g. from sensors or tools accompanying the wearables such as scanners.?
• An effortless user experience. To ease the training and transfer of knowledge between workers, the technology must have an easy-to-use user interface and user experience. No more cryptic screens or cumbersome processes: We need technology that cuts through the chase and is accessible to all people, regardless of tech know-how, skill level or language.??
• Context-aware, either by process or by Artificial Intelligence (AI). This is where the technology for the frontline workers takes it up a notch. Computer vision can help to understand what is happening right in front of the worker’s eyes and provide sparring, guidance, or warnings – so literally enhance their reality.??

AR continues to prove itself as the solution to carry the global frontline workforce to the future. The technology can tackle the challenges and complexity of our current industrial landscape. While Google, YouTube, Amazon, and Uber deliver their “instant services” to the consumer world, industrial AR solutions enable enterprises to provide similarly instant, on-demand services to their frontline workers. It delivers on-the-job training, on-demand access to enterprise knowledge, instant collaboration, and real-time access to data. It truly is an all-in-one solution that will drive the future of work on the shopfloors.?

Now, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this innovative technology and its potential impact on the global workforce. Let’s discuss:?

Can you think of specific industries or sectors where AR could make a significant impact??

If you are interested to learn more about the potential of AR in automotive:?

• Read more all about how AR is changing the way industries work here .?
• Sign up to TeamViewer’s industrial AR newsletter .?

• Connect with me for more insights on all topics around industrial AR!?