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Augmented reality becomes reality

There is hardly an IT topic where theoretical possibilities and everyday reality are further apart than Industry 4.0, but manufacturing companies are coming under pressure from several sides.
Thomas Vorhauer, Atos
November 1, 2016
[shutterstock: 551483845, Stepan Kapl]
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This text has been automatically translated from German to English.

Customers are asking for individual offers and customized products. Competitors are also constantly on an optimization course and new providers, such as technology companies, are poaching in the former territory of traditional industrial companies.

In order to meet these demands and be prepared for the future, companies need innovative products as well as services, technologies and processes that keep pace or are even one step ahead.

When introducing new processes and analysis methods, a structured and holistic approach is crucial - the operational business must continue to run in parallel and should only be modernized gradually.

Discovery workshops, such as those offered by Atos, show which possibilities of the factory of the future can be used in individual cases. Exemplary use cases are discussed and checked for feasibility in the company.

The Atos experts bring with them a wealth of experience that addresses companies at every stage of development. Together with the customer, they assess the impact of the use cases on business success and the opportunities they open up.

At the end, a roadmap shows recommendations for action. This allows the company to see transparently where the IoT actually offers added value - and which concept is better left as an idea.

The networked factory of the future offers numerous possibilities:

  • Collecting data from machines
  • Production with batch size 1
  • Support through augmented reality/Augmented reality
  • End-to-end predictive maintenance and service solutions
  • the use of additive manufacturing (3D printing).

The specialist departments also often provide impetus for new approaches in production, and a holistic approach is crucial to successfully shaping the digital transformation.

The motto is "Think Big - Start Small - Move Fast".

Not only IT and management should be brought on board, but the specialist departments should also have their say, as they are usually familiar with the practical problems and customer requirements.

Finally, a comprehensive Industry 4.0 concept incorporates numerous components, tools and processes, illustrated by predictive maintenance: a flight manager, for example, can continuously monitor the condition of an aircraft, regardless of where the machine is located.

Possible machine failure can thus be predicted and maintenance optimized. Downtimes, additional costs and safety risks are reduced.

During a service appointment, so-called smart glasses with augmented reality technology (Augmented reality) or wearables (smart gloves) are used.

Turbine

The service technician already has all the information and spare parts required for maintenance and can therefore replace the relevant components.

Thanks to the connection to all relevant merchandise management and logistics systems, necessary spare parts can be ordered in advance from the nearest warehouse or, ideally, produced directly on site using 3D printing.

Numerous technologies are incorporated into this scenario:

  • Augmented Reality/Augmented reality
  • Additive manufacturing
  • SAP Predictive Analytics
  • SAP Predictive Maintenance based on the Hana cloud platform

An important component in making Industry 4.0 a reality is the Atos Industrial IoT platform. It enables online access to sensor data in real time and secures this data between downstream processes, applications or data analytics via secure access points.

As an SAP Platinum Partner, Atos supports companies in exploiting the potential inherent in processing and analyzing large volumes of data. After all, in the near future, sensors on production systems or a turbine will not only provide information on when components need to be replaced, but will also deliver insights for better design of the entire production processes and product life cycles.

The detailed machine data not only helps the technicians, but also product development, purchasing and controlling.

The possibilities are seemingly endless. That's why it's important to create a comprehensive roadmap - and to adapt it regularly. After all, technological progress does not stand still.

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Thomas Vorhauer, Atos

Thomas-Vorhauer is Head of Industry 4.0/IoT at ATOS Germany.


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Working on the SAP basis is crucial for successful S/4 conversion. 

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