What is AR technology?
Augmented Reality (AR) is a series of emerging technologies based on data and imaging, which is expected to bridge this fault and release the special untapped potential of human beings. Although AR technology has just started, there are signs that it will become the mainstream. It is estimated that in 2020, the global consumption of AR technology will reach 60 billion US dollars. AR will profoundly affect enterprises in every industry and all kinds of organizations from universities to social enterprises. In the next few years, AR will change the way we learn, make decisions and interact with the physical world. Customer service, employee training, product design and manufacturing, supply management, and even the competitive mode of enterprises will be greatly changed because of AR.
In fact, the application of AR technology was born decades ago, but they are all in very limited fields and independent of each other. It was not until recent years that the technology to fully release the potential came out. In essence, AR transforms data and analysis into imaging or animation, which is superimposed on the real world. Today, most AR applications are on mobile devices, but in the future, it will gradually liberate our hands, for example, by wearing monitors or smart glasses.
At a deeper level, AR has created a new information presentation paradigm, which we believe will profoundly affect the construction, management and presentation of Internet data. Although the network has changed the way of information collection, transmission and acquisition, the way of data storage and presentation-on the 2D screen-still has many limitations. It requires people to translate 2D information in their minds before applying it to the 3D world. This is not always an easy task. Try to repair the office copier according to the manual. By projecting data information into real objects and environments, people can simultaneously process digital and physical information through AR, without converting the two kinds of information into each other. This greatly improves the speed and efficiency of our information absorption, decision-making and implementation.
The key ability of AR
Intelligent interconnection products have been widely used in homes, offices and factories. Users can monitor the status and operation of products in real time, control products remotely, and optimize the performance of products by using real-time data. In some scenarios, artificial intelligence and interconnection functions can make products run automatically.
visualize
AR application can provide X-ray-like perspective function, allowing users to see the internal structure that they can't see at ordinary times. For example, AccuVein, a medical device company, introduced an AR technology, which can convert heartbeat signals in patients' blood vessels into vascular vein imaging and project them on patients' skin, so that medical personnel can easily locate blood vessels. This greatly improves the success rate of blood drawing and other related vascular treatments. This technology has increased the success rate of blood drawing by more than 2 times and reduced the use of other auxiliary measures by 45%.
Instructions and guidance
AR subverts the traditional teaching, training and coaching system. In the past, these key functions shouldered the heavy responsibility of improving production efficiency, but they had natural defects such as high cost, high labor intensity and uneven results. In the fields of product assembly, mechanical operation and warehouse logistics, AR transforms complex 2D drawings into interactive 3D holographic imaging, leading users to complete all necessary processes step by step. Human imagination and understanding have been liberated.
In the past, people could only interact with physical controls, such as buttons and knobs, and then touch screens appeared. With the rise of intelligent interconnected devices, applications on mobile phones have gradually replaced physical controllers, giving people the ability to control remotely.
AR takes user interaction to a whole new level. AR headphones can directly project the virtual control panel onto the product, and users can control it by gestures and voice commands. In the near future, users wearing smart glasses can directly start the virtual user interface of products and operate through eyes and gestures. For example, a worker wearing smart glasses can observe the performance of multiple devices and make adjustments without touching any devices.
How does AR create value
AR can create business value in two directions. First of all, AR can be an integral part of the product. Secondly, it can improve the performance of all components of the value chain, including product development, manufacturing, marketing and after-sales service.
Accounts receivable and value chain
We have seen the influence of AR in the whole value chain, but the degree of each field is different. Generally speaking, the application of AR in visualization and indication has the greatest impact on the operation of enterprises, and the interactive function has just begun to appear, but it is still in the initial testing stage.
product development
manufacture
The manufacturing process is usually extremely complicated, including hundreds or even thousands of steps. Once an error occurs, it will cause huge losses. As mentioned above, AR can send the right information to the workers on the assembly line at the right time, thus reducing errors and improving efficiency and productivity.
logistics
Warehouse operation accounts for about 20% of all logistics costs of enterprises, while taking goods from shelves accounts for about 65% of warehouse operation costs. In most warehouses, workers also use original paper lists to find and collect goods. This method is not only slow, but also prone to errors.
Logistics enterprises headed by DHL are using AR technology to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the picking process. AR equipment can guide workers to find the exact location of each cargo and design the best route to the next cargo. In DHL, this technology not only reduces errors, improves the enthusiasm of employees, but also improves the production efficiency by 25%.
Marketing and sales
AR not only redefines the concept of product showroom and demonstration, but also completely subverts the traditional customer experience. Before buying, customers can see the operation of virtual products in the real environment, which makes them have more realistic expectations, make more confident purchase decisions and improve customer satisfaction. In the future, AR technology may reduce the number of physical stores and exhibition halls.
after service
In this field, AR has greatly enhanced the potential of intelligent connected products to create value. AR can assist technicians to provide services to consumers, just like assisting workers in factories. Through the prediction and analysis data collected by the product, AR can guide technicians to carry out maintenance in real time or connect with experts remotely. On-site technicians can find that a component will be damaged within one month through AR technology, and replace it now, so as to solve the customer's problems in advance and nip in the bud.
human resources
Early users of AR technology, including DHL, US Navy and Boeing, have already discovered the powerful effect of AR, especially in the virtual training of "teaching students in accordance with their aptitude". AR equipment can provide customized instructions according to the different experience levels of trained employees or for specific mistakes. For example, an employee often makes the same kind of mistakes, and the company can let employees use AR auxiliary equipment until the quality of work is improved. In some enterprises, AR technology even shortens the training time of new employees to almost zero, and also lowers the technical threshold for recruiting new employees.
Although the development speed of artificial intelligence and robots is amazing, we believe that combining the capabilities of machines with the unique advantages of human beings can release greater productivity, far exceeding their respective capabilities. In order to turn this vision into reality, we need a powerful human-computer interaction interface to bridge the gap between the digital world and the physical world. AR provides us with a historic solution. Humans can use AR to acquire new digital knowledge and machine capabilities, thus enhancing their own capabilities. AR will profoundly change the training and skills development, and people can complete complex work without lengthy and expensive traditional training (many people are not qualified for such training). We firmly believe that AR will help mankind to benefit more from the digital revolution and its influence.