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Masternaut Three X
launched an advanced camera phone application that enables digital
images to be displayed together with associated business data. This
augmented reality (AR) solution is targeted at organizations in need of
vehicle tracking and mobile resource management technology for more
efficient field service operations. Editor in Chief Joe Francica
interviewed Masternaut's Johann Levy, the research and development
manager, about the AR application.
Directions Magazine (DM): This is a solution for field service
technicians. Can you explain in more detail the applications in which
it would be used?
Johann Levy (JL): Yes, this can provide a solution for field
service technicians because it gives rapid access to information, cuts
the need for paperwork and provides visual and voice communication -
all as an aid to boost efficiency. However, it has much wider
application appeal because it can deliver any kind of critical data
onto a real-time digital image, making it a powerful business tool.
Therefore, any service organization could use this development to
communicate important information to mobile personnel - the
applications are limitless.
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(Click for larger view.)
In the context of the field service technician, Masternaut Augmented
Reality provides a range of benefits. From delivering the precise GPS
position and a satellite image of the job site to guide the technician,
to instantly updating work schedules, right down to being able to track
deliveries of parts to the site, this innovation is designed to help
improve efficiencies and boost customer service. For example, combining
live picture capability with GPS and service data means that augmented
reality can be used to locate the precise position of underground pipes
and valves, switch gear hidden behind bulkheads and so on, using maps
and live images with accurate job details. The mobile phone, of course,
provides communications and doubles as a convenient data capture / data
entry device, further enhancing mobility and eliminating paper
documentation.
DM: How do you intend to tailor or customize the solution for
specific clients? What would change in terms of the information you
provide or the interface to field personnel?
JL: Masternaut Three X has a good reputation for developing
fully featured, off-the-shelf solutions that we tailor to fit each
customer's requirements. So, as with the rest of our portfolio, we have
developed our augmented reality product to be highly flexible. We can
customize the screen displays to show only the information needed by
the mobile personnel and in a format that makes it easy to understand
and read under any environmental conditions - indoors, outdoors, bright
light, low light, etc. We can also apply good customer relationship
management practice by helping the technicians with the information
they need to work with the customer - repair / maintenance history,
costs, right down to how to address the person with whom they are
dealing.
DM: Let's talk specifically about your example of a pothole
needing repair. How do you anticipate receiving information about this
location prior to sending a repair technician to fix the pothole? Do
you envision that the person who logs the work order will identify
precisely via GPS the location of the pothole?
JL: Highway maintenance inspectors would collect survey data -
geolocation, condition, photographic images, etc. This information
would then be used to create the work orders. It would then simply be a
matter of providing the job to the maintenance teams and they then go
to the site, with the mobile phone navigating them both visually and
via GPS to the precise location of the job. It would also enable
maintenance crews to feed back any new defects they find that have
developed since the survey was performed.
DM: What are the expected productivity benefits? Have you determined an ROI for this application?
JL: Productivity benefits will include the ability to get to
jobs quickly and safely, the elimination of mountains of paperwork
replaced by electronic records, better communications, GPS navigation,
tracking and enhanced customer services. It is a development that will
help field-based personnel work smarter and provide better customer
services.
DM: Your augmented reality solution, or "x-ray view" as you call
it, for Masternaut Asset Track is intriguing. Are you building a
database of parts and supplies that will be integrated with the AR
system, meaning that an inventory will be built per truck or vehicle
and a manifest provided to the driver via AR?
JL: Masternaut Asset Track uses RFID tags to manage assets of
any type or size. When RFID tags are allocated to assets, a unique
identification code is recorded automatically onto the Masternaut Asset
Track asset database. We can link these assets to the vehicles carrying
them and use the augmented reality application to guide the service
engineer to the appropriately equipped van or truck. This means less
time is spent sourcing tools and service parts from the stores and the
electronic manifests can be presented visually with missing items
flagged.
If items are shared among the vehicle fleet the system can also guide
the engineers to each appropriate vehicle to locate the equipment they
need - of course the system would only provide information on the
location of available tools, etc, to prevent them from taking equipment
needed by other people.
It also provides security, allowing assets to be stored on the vehicles rather than being carried to and from storage.
DM: Please expand on what you see as the future of AR for asset tracking and management.
JL: On the asset tracking and management side alone, the
combination of Masternaut Augmented Reality and Asset Track will
provide new levels of asset visibility and security. Masternaut
Augmented Reality is in early development and we are gaining much
interest from customers. People like visual technology, and being able
to incorporate real-world images enhances the way they work with it. We
believe that the sky is the limit for this innovation - the
applications are only limited by the imagination. It will help simplify
many complex jobs by providing the connecting medium between mobile
workers and the various assets they need to perform their work. It will
also provide an enhanced view of performance, asset usage and
efficiency to management teams.
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