Creating communication between machines and VR/AR devices to remotely assist on the shop floor

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality applications are growing and growing – current examples are in interior design, architecture, or virtual museum tours. However, also industry offers great opportunities for VR and AR application. This could be for trainings and onboarding, or live remote assistance. Realtime data communication from machines and an AR/VR visualisation would open the doors to remote machine inspection, error assistance, or virtual shop floor tours.

The industrial application of AR/VR technology is the goal of the MachViz project, that will be conducted in collaboration with Connec2, a company that offers an XR collaboration platform for lifelike designs, review sessions, and work instructions.

The goal of this project is to successfully connect virtual and physical worlds through an OPC UA connection for a chosen machine, e.g. a robot or a precision assembly machine. By using a VR/AR device, the user could see a digital replica of the machine with the machine status and the way it operates. This could be used to, for example, provide insight into the machine’s performance over the last 24 hours or overlay system properties that would normally be invisible.

Industry partner

APPROACH

The MachViz project takes a comprehensive approach to integrating AR/VR with industrial machine data. It starts with developing an OPC UA-based adapter to transfer data from a selected production machine to a virtual environment. This process includes determining the necessary data for visualisation, such as data sources, formats, and storage needs. The project focuses on a single production machine and a specific dataset to create a proof-of-concept demonstrator. The adapter ensures accurate, real-time data transfer to the VR environment, where it is visualised using the Connec2 XR platform.

Additionally, the project involves creating a digital replica of the machine that displays its status and operations, allowing for remote monitoring, performance analysis, and error troubleshooting through immersive AR/VR interfaces. The project’s phases are designed to progressively develop, test, and refine this integration.

OUTCOME

The MachViz project achieved significant outcomes by successfully integrating machine data with AR/VR technology. A thorough understanding of machine data was developed, including the identification of data sources, formats, and storage requirements. This comprehensive approach ensured that the data was accurately represented in the virtual environment.

• Overlaid invisible data onto the machine’s digital replica, offering real-time insights
• Enabled technicians to perform maintenance and resolve issues remotely using AR/VR
• Provided a virtual machine for risk-free training and effective learning

Overall, the project optimised industrial processes and decision-making by leveraging VR visualisation through established industrial communication standards

This project was made possible through the Regio Deal supported by the Province of Overijssel and the Dutch State.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT MACHVIZ, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT TO

Barry te Dorsthorst

Research Engineer

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