This is a guest post from our friends over on the PTC blog.

This week in Chicago, IoT business and IT leaders from multiple industries came together at Bosch Connected World to share best practices and case studies around connected products, services, and solutions.

During the conference, the emerging trend of using augmented reality in manufacturing was explored in a keynote on Wednesday by PTC CEO and IoT expert and visionary, Jim Heppelmann, where he shared a research-driven framework for how companies can capitalize on the convergence of the physical and digital worlds.

Heppelmann emphasized the experiences and opportunities augmented reality is creating for competitive advantage in the IoT.

With the number of smart, connected products increasing each day, the volume of data generated continues to grow, presenting both challenges and opportunities. More data is being created than humans can possibly consume, which creates the need for new processes and applications to address this challenge. The ability to make this information more digestible, while also being able to identify what is valuable and requires action, will become a key competitive advantage. Data analytics is one way to take this large amount of data and condense it to a smaller actionable amount, but AR presents another level of opportunity to redefine the way we as humans absorb and learn from this information.

The excitement over AR’s ability to change the way we consume and communicate information is getting a lot of attention. Recently, Apple CEO Tim Cook weighed in on his view that AR will be bigger than VR in an interview with ABC, saying, “…my own view is that augmented reality is the larger of the two, probably by far, because this gives the capability for both of us to sit and be very present, talking to each other, but also have other things — visually — for both of us to see.”

Last week, an article in The Huffington Post also addressed how AR can offer tangible benefits by providing a more immersive form of education and training. As evident in Heppelmann’s keynote at Bosch Connected World, this can be very valuable in a business or manufacturing setting.

Using AR to ‘educate’ in a business setting opens up a vast amount of possibilities for addressing the many challenges that manufacturers across industries face in the age of IoT, including:

• Being able to better understand IoT data and make it actionable

• Marketing and selling smart, connected products

• Overcoming the manufacturing skills gap by optimizing training through simulation, which leads to better retention of information

• Changing the way service information is consumed and the way smart, connected products are serviced

The use of AR in enterprise will continue to grow. It is not only changing the way we interact with things, but also holds a lot of promise for increasing our understanding of information and improving the way we work.

• optimizing performance with smart connected products
• minimizing downtime with predictive analytics
• provide access to accurate and relevant documentation, illustrations, and part lists
• improving service response time and first-time fix rates
• optimizing service parts availability and pricing
• paying for product performance with product-as-a-service (PaaS) models

Augmented Reality (AR) uses devices such as smart glasses and phone applications to overlay digital information on the real world. The resulting experiences provide a convergence of digital and physical worlds. Isn’t this what we’ve all been waiting for? For technology to catch up with us? How did we end up here? Where did it all begin?

If you think back to your earliest introduction to Augmented Reality, what do you think of? I tend to think back to Star Trek’s holodecks – augmented facilities that characters used for recreation and for work. But the idea of bringing together virtual and physical worlds has been around for longer than you think.

The first traces of an Augmented Reality device originated in the late 1960’s by computer scientist, Ivan Sutherland, at Harvard University when he was working on what he called “the ultimate display.” The device, called the Sword of Damocles, displayed a geometric grid of graphics over the user’s view of the room. The component parts to the device were so large and heavy that it had to be mounted from the ceiling and suspended with a mechanical arm that supported the head mounted display (HMD). It wouldn’t be until many years later that AR would be introduced to mainstream media as a device that could be used in the manufacturing world.

Not unlike Steve Jobs’ idea that the individual consumer may want his or her own personal computer – working designers and engineers are implementing the individual use of AR to improve workforce efficiencies. Why might manufacturers want Augmented Reality in their hands and in the workplace? What are the benefits?

Augmented Reality helps you work a lot faster.

For Designers and Engineers, a lot of time spent on the manufacturing floor is working with the design in one work space and moving to another space to test the product. With the aid of hands-free AR devices, you’ll be spending a lot less time writing down changes. You’ll be able to make a virtual change to a design with the swipe of a finger or by the nod of your head. You will no longer have messy notepads filled with your ingenious ideas with room for error, missing notepads, or frustration with file-keeping. Your AR glasses will be able to keep up with your fast-paced mind and you’ll be redirecting your energy towards developing new products and improving existing ones.

You can use AR to provide hands-on learning for employees.

Have you ever sat in class writing or typing down all the notes you could possibly think of to ensure that you would apply those rules later while you’re in the field? I know I have. How many times have you actually looked back at those notes? Augmented Reality in the workplace gives employees an opportunity to thrive in their learning environments. Hands-on learning can result in up to a 75% retention rate. AR devices produce real-time images of physical objects with virtual work instructions that guide you while you’re on the manufacturing floor. So yes, traditional training will still be relevant – but you’ll be able to supplement your learning with hands-on experience too.

Vuforia Studio allows you to access data easily.

Vuforia Studio, a PTC Service Lifecycle Management (SLM) tool, is used to improve service, operation, engineering, and manufacturing with AR capabilities. This app is a powerful solution for creating, deploying, and consuming AR experiences within your enterprise. Vuforia Studio has an easy-to-use ‘drag and drop’ interface so that users can quickly create and share scalable AR experiences.

Augmented Reality helps to refine and optimize design in early stages of product development. Smartphones, tablets, and smart glasses can retrieve product data such as sensor readings, locations, temperatures, sales history, warranty history, and other service information. Concepts, modifications, and new ideas can be reviewed and changed quickly. 3D parts observed using a wearable augmented reality device will give designers and engineers a better visualization of a finished product. What’s the result? Rapid repetitious design cycles and the optimization of product design and development.

Solve business problems and provide competitive differentiation with Vuforia Studio – download the product brief.

If you’re interested in talking to us today about Vuforia Studio, then email us at communications@eacpds.com or call us at 1-888-225-7579.