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feature Xr: auGmented, miXed and virtual realitY


the hands-free solution for remote visual support


A new commitment between Konica Minolta (www.konicaminolta.eu) and RealWear is extending Konica Minolta’s use of its remote visual support tool AIRe Link on smartphones and tablets for use with award-winning RealWear headsets. This is another important step by the digital workplace provider to help customers digitise their processes as part of its Intelligent Connected Workplace portfolio. Konica Minolta AIRe Link is a remote


support application that allows service specialists to see what customers see and to remotely guide them visually to fix an issue.


Before the new partnership it was possible to use the application via any tablet or smartphone to which the customer received a link and could open it in a browser. In this way, the problem can be solved more quickly and virtually. Remote support can


also reduce travel times and costs as well as CO2 emissions. Konica Minolta identified several hands-free use cases when using AIRe Link


internally and in discussion with other manufacturing vendors. For example, in one use case, an operator of a complex machine needs help with the machine configuration or a malfunction and needs both hands free to follow the instructions from the machine vendor. In another example, a junior field engineer is fixing a complex machine and wants advice from a more experienced colleague but needs both hands to fix the machine. By extending AIRe Link with head-mounted wearables, customers can now use remote visual support in situations that require hands-free operations. Any user can now easily use AIRe Link on RealWear by downloading the free application from RealWear Cloud. “Our experience has shown that the majority of issues can be solved using remote


visual support in combination with a smartphone. However, there are situations where the smartphone blocking one hand is an issue. That is why we decided to partner with RealWear – one of the market leaders in the assisted reality market – to add a hands- free application to our offering,” explained Zdenek Vrbka, programme manager, Intelligent Connected Workplace, Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe. Since the first deployment of AIRe Link in 2020, more than 6,000 technical experts


are already using Konica Minolta AIRe Link, supporting thousands of customers and frontline professionals. One example of this is the Bruker Corporation, a global company supplying high-performance scientific instruments and high-value analytical and diagnostic solutions for molecular and materials research, as well as for industrial and applied analysis. “If we have an issue, AIRe Link allows us to immediately see what the customer sees. We can often identify or even fix the customer’s problem remotely using AIRe Link, which avoids travelling to the customer’s premises. The customer gets a solution faster, and we save travel costs and carbon emissions. It also significantly improves customer satisfaction and ensures the well-being of service staff,” said David Burian, Head of Service at Bruker. In addition, EG.D, an energy provider from the Czech Republic, is also using AIRe


Link for remote visual support as part of a pilot study. RealWear


www.realwear.com


new technology makes multi-simultaneous XR global tRaining a Reality


ARuVR has been granted a patent by the UK Intellectual Property Office (UK IPO) for its invention ‘Virtual and Augmented Reality units, systems and methods’. According to the company, the technology


covered by the patent (which includes a total of 15 claims) solves many issues including: multi- user simultaneous VR/AR training solutions being so far only satisfactory for individual use due the inherent latency issues associated with such real-time, high data payload applications. The ARuVR training platform enables enterprises


4 design solutions oCtoBer 2022 4


to train in real-time multiple employees, in any location globally, through a multiway interactive AR/VR experience. Thanks to the patented technology and software, all participants, including the trainer/presenter are able to collaborate in an immersive or augmented reality experience and to see what all participants are doing, in real-time with zero latency, the company explains. The invention is already present in the ARuVR


platform and, to date, ARuVR technology has been deployed by many leading global enterprises, including: Coca-Cola, BT, Rio Tinto, NEOM,


Amazon, American Express, BP, Philip Morris, Barilla, PwC and many others. Frank Furnari, CEO & founder, ARuVR, said:


“Until now the potential of VR/AR in a training capacity has been limited by its 1-2-1 nature and problems with latency. ARuVR VR/AR training solutions significantly solve this, allowing enterprises to effectively communicate, collaborate and train their workforce at the same time, wherever they are, interactively and in real-time.”


ARuVR www.ARuVR.com


feature sponsored by Augmented ReAlity


boosts business foR An App-dRiVen dRinks


dispenseR mAnufActuReR


GenerationJuice from Bromborough, Liverpool City Region, manufactures app-driven drink dispensers, or drink hubs, designed to serve natural juice drinks from concentrate into reusable bottles, as an alternative to single use plastic and aluminium cans. Following success in the leisure and hospitality industry the business has started to target emerging markets such as education and healthcare – and, to help, it is using Augmented Reality. The company worked with Made Smarter’s Adoption


Programme in the North West to develop a digital demo experience using augmented reality to enable customers to visualise the dispenser on their site while tasting samples of the drinks at the same time. The app-based solution eliminates the time-consuming and inefficient face-to-face demonstration process. GenerationJuice estimates that with new marketing activity to generate demo leads, productivity will increase by 600% and turnover by 50%. The technology investment has also created two new jobs. Simon Edwards, co-founder, said: “Made Smarter’s support


came at a crucial time and it has helped us to shape our digital roadmap and accelerate our ambitions. “Our first step is to create more sales opportunities using


emerging technologies which will drive our ambition of building 1,000 dispensers over the next three years.” By using the app and sending tasting samples of its 180-drink


portfolio by courier, GenerationJuice will cut its annual mileage by 20,000, reducing its own carbon footprint. With sustainability high on the agenda, GenerationJuice estimates its products can offer resource efficiency for its customers in terms of waste reduction, energy savings, and environmental impact. The company


estimates that an average customer can expect to save one ton of plastic or aluminium waste based on an average consumption of 75-90,000 plastic bottles or cans – potentially reducing the company’s energy consumption by up to 63%.


made smarter www.madesmarter.uk


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