Empirical evidence, evaluation criteria and challenges for the effectiveness of virtual and mixed reality tools for training operators of car service maintenance

The debate on effectiveness of virtual and mixed reality (VR/MR) tools for training professionals and operators is long-running with prominent contributions arguing that there are several shortfalls of experimental approaches and assessment criteria reported within the literature. In the automotive context, although car-makers were pioneers in the use of VR/MR tools for supporting designers, researchers started only recently to explore the effectiveness of VR/MR systems as mean for driving external operators of service centres to acquire the procedural skills necessary for car maintenance processes. In fact, from 463 journal articles on VR/MR tools for training published in the last thirty years, we identified only eight articles in which researchers experimentally tested the effectiveness of VR/MR tools for training service operators’ skills. To survey the current findings and the deficiencies of these eight studies, we use two main drivers: i) a well-known framework of organizational training programmes, and ii) a list of eleven evaluation criteria widely applied by researchers of different fields for assessing the effectiveness of training carried out with VR/MR systems. The analysis that we present allows us to: i) identify a trend among automotive researchers of focusing their analysis only on car service operators’ performance in terms of time and errors, by leaving unexplored important pre- and post-training aspects that could affect the effectiveness of VR/MR tools to deliver training contents – e.g., people skills, previous experience, cibersickness, presence and engagement, usability and satisfaction and ii) outline the future challenges for designing and assessing VR/MR tools for training car service operators

Immersive Facility Management – a methodological approach based on BIM and Mixed Reality for training and maintenance operations

Innovation technology in industries including manufacturing and aerospace is moving towards the use of Mixed Reality (MR) and advanced tools while Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) sector is still remaining behind it. Moreover, the use of immersive technologies in the AEC digital education, as well as for professional training, is still little considered. Augmented and Mixed reality (AR/MR) have the capability to provide a “X-ray vision”, showing hidden objects in a virtual/real overlay. This feature in the digital object visualization is extremely valuable for improving operation performance and maintenance activities. The present study gives an overview of literature about the methodologies to integrate virtual technologies such as AR/MR and Building Information Modelling (BIM) to provide an immersive technology framework for training purposes together with the Digital Twin Model (DTM)-based approach. Furthermore, the Facility Management (FM) tasks’ training on complex building systems can benefit from a virtual learning approach since it provides a collaborative environment enhancing and optimizing efficiency and productivity in FM learning strategies. For this purpose, the technological feasibility is analysed in the proposed case study, focusing on the realization of a methodological framework prototype of immersive and interactive environment for building systems’ FM. Cloud computing technologies able to deal with complex and extensive information databases and to support users' navigation in geo-referenced and immersive virtual interfaces are include as well. Those ones enable the DTM-based opera-tion for building maintenance both in real-time FM operators’ training and FM tasks’ optimization

Effectiveness of a multi-device 3D virtual environment application to train car service maintenance procedures

This paper reports a study which demonstrates the advantages of using virtual-reality based systems for training automotive assembly tasks. Sixty participants were randomly assigned to one of the following three training experience to learn a car service procedure: i) observational training through video instruction; ii) an experiential virtual training and trial in a CAVE; and iii) an experiential virtual training and trial through a portable 3D interactive table. Results show that virtual trained participants, after the training, can remember significantly better (

Augmented reality in support of intelligent manufacturing – A systematic literature review

Industry increasingly moves towards digitally enabled ‘smart factories’ that utilise the internet of things (IoT) to realise intelligent manufacturing concepts like predictive maintenance or extensive machine to machine communication. A core technology to facilitate human integration in such a system is augmented reality (AR), which provides people with an interface to interact with the digital world of a smart factory. While AR is not ready yet for industrial deployment in some areas, it is already used in others. To provide an overview of research activities concerning AR in certain shop floor operations, a total of 96 relevant papers from 2011 to 2018 are reviewed. This paper presents the state of the art, the current challenges, and future directions of manufacturing related AR research through a systematic literature review and a citation network analysis. The results of this review indicate that the context of research concerning AR gets increasingly broader, especially by addressing challenges when implementing AR solutions.No funding was received

Study of Augmented Reality based manufacturing for further integration of quality control 4.0: a systematic literature review

Augmented Reality (AR) has gradually become a mainstream technology enabling Industry 4.0 and its maturity has also grown over time. AR has been applied to support different processes on the shop-floor level, such as assembly, maintenance, etc. As various processes in manufacturing require high quality and near-zero error rates to ensure the demands and safety of end-users, AR can also equip operators with immersive interfaces to enhance productivity, accuracy and autonomy in the quality sector. However, there is currently no systematic review paper about AR technology enhancing the quality sector. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a systematic literature review (SLR) to conclude about the emerging interest in using AR as an assisting technology for the quality sector in an industry 4.0 context. Five research questions (RQs), with a set of selection criteria, are predefined to support the objectives of this SLR. In addition, different research databases are used for the paper identification phase following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) methodology to find the answers for the predefined RQs. It is found that, in spite of staying behind the assembly and maintenance sector in terms of AR-based solutions, there is a tendency towards interest in developing and implementing AR-assisted quality applications. There are three main categories of current AR-based solutions for quality sector, which are AR-based apps as a virtual Lean tool, AR-assisted metrology and AR-based solutions for in-line quality control. In this SLR, an AR architecture layer framework has been improved to classify articles into different layers which are finally integrated into a systematic design and development methodology for the development of long-term AR-based solutions for the quality sector in the future

Augmented Reality in Maintenance: An information-centred design framework

Augmented Reality (AR) visualization capabilities can impact on maintenance. From enhancing performance to retrieving feedback, AR can close the information loop between maintenance information systems and the operations supported. Though, the design of AR applications is not aligned with current information systems, which prevents maintenance information to be used and improved properly. In this paper, industrial collaboration contributed to determine a framework for AR integration in maintenance systems. The framework describes information types, formats and interactions modes for AR to enhance efficiency improvements in maintenance of complex equipment. Semi-structured interviews and surveys with maintainers were conducted to determine the maintenance challenges and also to validate the framework proposed. Therefore, exposing future research in topics such as multimodal interaction, information contextualization and performance analysis to achieve the complete integration of AR in maintenance

Measuring the learning effectiveness of serious gaming for training of complex manufacturing tasks

© 2017, © The Author(s) 2017. Background. Training new workers on complex manufacturing tasks has long been a challenge for high value manufacturing companies. Equipment downtime, costly instructors, and dangerous working environments are some of the impediments of hands-on training. To overcome these hurdles, a traditional manufacturing paper manual was transformed into a serious game through capturing and embedding expert knowledge. Aim. This article investigates the learning effectiveness of learning via a serious game (Training Game) compared with the tradition learning method (Paper Manual) through a user study. Method. Twenty employees took part in a randomised controlled trial. They were assigned to one of two conditions: Training Game (experimental condition), or Paper Manual (control condition). Participants spent a maximum of 30 minutes to study manufacturing instructions before completing two tests to evaluate the amount of learning achieved. Results. The results show that the Training Game was more effective for learning procedu ral knowledge than the Paper Manual. Regarding factual knowledge, no significant difference was identified between the two conditions. In terms of motivation, increased engagement levels were reported in the Training Game condition. Conclusions. This user study shows evidence that the serious TG being evaluated is an effective method for training procedural knowledge in a complex manufacturing scenario

MethOds and tools for comprehensive impact Assessment of the CCAM solutions for passengers and goods. D1.1: CCAM solutions review and gaps

Review of the state-of-the-art on Cooperative, Connected and Automated mobility use cases, scenarios, business models, Key Performance Indicators, impact evaluation methods, technologies, and user needs (for organisations & citizens)