FEATURE Oil & Gas
Smart oil platforms gain vision
Smart devices in oil applications bring many benefits. Visor-Ex 01 from the Pepperl+Fuchs brand ECOM Instruments is a system consisting of smart glasses and a smartphone, certified for use in hazardous areas
W
ith inhospitable environmental conditions, confi ned spaces and limited WLAN
connectivity, the off shore oil and gas industry is not the easiest to digitalise. Stringent requirements for hazardous areas further restrict the choice of smart devices that can be used. This is a reason why the staff on oil platforms largely work with pen and paper to document inspection results before transferring that data to a computer. Thus, the oil and gas industry is looking for suitable digitisation, including smart devices to help digitise processes. In addition to remote support, other important applications include data harvesting, for example during inspections or for an upcoming general storage system overhaul. Wearables are of interest for hands-free work – which is essential on oil rigs and platforms. Global certifi cations such as ATEX or IECEx are mandatory to enable safe use. In addition, the devices must be comfortable to wear.
Visor-Ex 01 smart devices The Pepperl+Fuchs brand ECOM Instruments subjected the explosion- proof Visor-Ex 01 smart glasses to an extensive practical test on a drilling
24 October 2022 | Automation
rig. The lightweight wearable (180g) combines high camera quality and reliable communication in an ergonomic design. Coupled with the intrinsically- safe smartphone ECOM Smart-Ex 02 as computing unit with reliable LTE connectivity and a pocket device with replaceable battery for power supply, the smart glasses off er an intelligent ecosystem. Three integrated cameras transform the
Visor-Ex 01 smart glasses into a bionic eye, with unrestricted fi eld of vision. Visor-Ex 01 demonstrated its strengths during the tests, particularly in data harvesting. With the help of cameras and image processing, QR codes from devices and machines can be read, to gain access to sensor data such as pump pressure. This opens up a wide range of possible IoT application scenarios.
Incidents and their causes are easily
registered in digitised format, which can then be shared with support teams, within minutes.
Employees can also make all the
confi gurations they need on the associated smartphone, and use the smart glasses as an optional augmented reality layer. When not in use, the OLED display of the Visor- Ex 01 can be folded out of fi eld of vision, for normal viewing.
Overall, the tests proved Visor-Ex 01’s versatility and ease of use, even at its prototype stage. The wearable is particularly suitable for remote support during inspection and maintenance. A stable LTE connectivity of the ECOM devices facilitates communication, particularly important since WLAN is not always readily available in every area of a drilling rig.
Other uses The augmented reality functions could also signifi cantly facilitate the onboarding of new specialists on the drilling rig. During a tour of the most important areas, for example, the relevant information or effi cient routes could be shown on the OLED display of the Visor-Ex 01 – or a connected expert could communicate via the integrated loudspeaker and describe what to look out for in certain areas. The ability to retrieve data quickly and easily from various sources lays the foundation for sophisticated application scenarios for such smart glasses.
CONTACT:
ECOM Instruments
www.ecom-ex.com
automationmagazine.co.uk
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