Augmented Reality Applications in Industry 4.0 Environment

Abstract

New technologies, such as cloud computing, the Internet of Things, wireless communications, etc., have already become part of our daily lives. This paper provides an insight into one of the new technologies, i.e., augmented reality (AR), as part of the manufacturing paradigm Industry 4.0 (I4.0). The aim of this paper is to contribute to the current state in the field of AR by assessing the main areas of the application of AR, the used devices and the tracking methods in support of the digitalization of the industry. Searches via Science Direct, Google Scholar and the Internet in general have resulted in the collection of a large number of papers. The examined works are classified according to several criteria and the most important data resulting from them are presented here. A comprehensive analysis of the literature has indicated the main areas of application of AR in I4.0 and, among these, those that stand out are maintenance, assembly and human robot collaboration. Finally, a roadmap for the application of AR in companies is proposed and the most promising future areas of research are listed.

AR-Based 3D Virtual Reconstruction of Brick Details

“…AR remote assistance, such as "see what I see" apps, can provide better knowledge transfer via a peer-to-peer connection that incorporates video, audio, or hand annotations [56][57][58]. Other studies of AR assistance have provided remote technical support, including those for maintenance [52], manufacturing [54,59], automotive [60], and utilities [61], with visual instructions or virtual user manuals [53,55] by means of annotations and content uploaded to phones, tablets, and AR glasses.…”

“…A synchronized first-person view offers the same perspective and enables video conferencing or online meetings across devices or platforms through, for example, Webex ® , Google Meet ® , Skype ® , and Zoom ® . In remote collaboration, different AR system approaches have been developed to improve communication efficiency by applying gazevisualization platforms for physical tasks [62], 3D gesture and CAD models of mixed reality for training tasks [63], essential factors for remote collaboration [64], image-or live-video-based AR collaborations for industrial applications [65], remote diagnosis for complex equipment [66], 360 • video cameras (360 cameras) in augmented virtual teleportation (AVT) for high-fidelity telecollaboration [67], web-based extended reality (XR) for physical environments with physical objects [68], Industry 4.0 environments [59], 2D/3D telecollaboration [69], and indoor construction monitoring [70].…”

Augmented reality and brain-computer interfaces for human-robot collaboration in manufacturing contexts

“…To put it another way, HRC-based design should be considered more from the perspective of users, including experts. Additionally, more testing in the Workspace area should be conducted [62] to refine control interfaces and minimize stress and fatigue.…”

Benchmarking Built-In Tracking Systems for Indoor AR Applications on Popular Mobile Devices

“…Among them, AR is a key technology that enriches the real world with contextualized virtual computer-generated information by offering users real-time interaction possibilities [ 1 , 2 ]. Thanks to these capabilities, AR technologies have been adopted in many application areas such as gaming, entertainment, medicine, marketing, the military, and in particular, in the industrial field where AR has been demonstrated to be a valuable tool for improving and accelerating product and process development [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ].…”