Augmented reality to perform human factors analysis in maintainability

Abstract

The simulation of maintenance activities is deployed within the industry to assess maintainability and human factors in preliminary aircraft architecture and design review. The use of augmented reality (AR) associated with a physical mock-up could be an alternative to other existing complementary simulations (virtual reality, physical mock-up alone). This paper introduces the first experiment with this hybrid simulation and the results of its performance. Through experimentation, we tested the ability of this solution to improve the design using the participants' feedback. This hybrid solution reduces the lead time in the development and decision process. It reduces the cost of the mock-up using only the basic shape of the model and tangible interfaces for the user. AR increases the details of the model, allows multiple configuration review and fosters collaboration between designers and project stakeholders.