REMOTE INSPECTION | SMART GLASSES
Looking at plants the smart way
With the corona pandemic changing the way plant inspections are carried out, more and more nuclear engineers are turning to smart glasses. Able to combine the observations of on-site specialists with the experience of international experts, the technology saves both time and costs
Christoph Gatzen
Head of Instrumentation, Control and Electrical Division
TÜV SÜD Energietechnik
AS THE COVID PANDEMIC HIT all areas of life, strict travel restrictions, varying from country to country, caused great uncertainty and even delays in many different business processes. It soon became clear that such restrictions were completely unpredictable. For the energy sector, and nuclear power in particular, this is a potentially critical challenge. Comprehensive inspections are needed on a regular basis because they reveal safety risks and form the basis for necessary maintenance work. The people who carry out inspections are highly specialised engineers who serve customers all over the world and to execute this function they must be on site in an appropriate time frame. Intelligent data glasses have emerged as a solution to
Simon Lemin
Director of Industry Service Division
TÜV SÜD Greater China
this problem. With their help, engineers on site may be guided remotely by colleagues in their respective locations, irrespective of any travel restrictions. The smart glasses connect them both visually and aurally for inspections and maintenance work. In addition, text, video, or images can be transmitted to the glasses and displayed on their high- resolution screen. TÜV SÜD has so far used smart glasses for the inspection of equipment for nuclear power plants, among other installations. Five hundred experts continuously inspect both the supply chain and operating nuclear plants as well as assist in their decommissioning where necessary. Teams
30 | December 2022 |
www.neimagazine.com
from Germany and other TÜV SÜD locations around the world use this equipment and their experience to ensure the safety of nuclear plants and the components used within them.
One hundred pairs of glasses To ensure stable and quality-oriented inspection for several customers, TÜV SÜD acquired one hundred assisted reality devices from the US manufacturer RealWear. The HMT-1 model glasses are durable and robust in design and materials. They work with the SHARE app from German software vendor oculavis, which offers a combined solution with RealWear. The devices come with step-by-step instructions and self-guided augmented reality workflows. These are part of the software installed on the system and help wearers perform simple operations on their own. The HMT-1 is also suitable for troubleshooting, production control, and education and training. Work in a power plant is sometimes subject to harsh
conditions, for example due to noise. If a machine room is inspected, hearing protectors can be coupled with smart glasses via an interface. In addition to the option of muting the glasses’ microphone, noise suppression can also be activated – so two-way communication remains possible. Industrial smart glasses should also withstand wet and dusty conditions. For this reason, the glasses can be worn
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