Development of the model-based planning system for augmented reality in industrial plant maintenance

Abstract

Augmented reality (AR) is extensively used in modern industrial automation, especially in industrial plant maintenance (lPM). The growing amount of both research and practical projects explore, develop and integrate the AR applications for a variety of tasks in lPM. With the introduction of AR, the accomplishment of tasks like training of maintenance staff, the visualization of instructions during maintenance and error correction, the visualization of plant control processes, and many others become more visual, interactive and are, therefore, considerably simplified. Significant time efficiency with respect to commissioning of industrial equipment may also be achieved. Thus, the incorporation of AR technologies leads to comprehensive benefits in solving the automation tasks during the lPM.At the same time, the expansion of AR in IPM does not match the high potential it has demonstrated. The reasons for this comprise the implementation and adaptation issues (high risks and cost of the specific AR implementation), the technical problems (hardware. and software-related), special developer requirements, etc. Therefore, a model for planning the implementation of AR in IPM and for the benefit prediction in terms of AR efficiency is required. However, the majority of the projects and studies in the IPM area focus on the practical side of the AR implementation. The AR introduction benefits (usually in terms of development speedup or process time reduction) tend to be considered on a case-by-case basis. There is seemingly a lack of scientific papers that review the general planning of AR for the IPM in automation: there are no models to identify the feasibility of solving a particular task using the AR in general or the prediction of AR implementation results. The respective research gap consists primarily of a comprehensive analysis of the factors determining the necessity of implementing AR for a project or a process with the defined characteristics, their relation to the resulting benefits, and the main emphases to be considered when planning and deploying the AR technologies in the IPM area in particular and in the automation in general.To fill this research gap, we propose a model-based planning system (MBPS) for AR in the area of the industrial plant maintenance. This system should provide a deep scientific analysis of the feasibility and necessity of using AR to solve particular tasks in the automation field. Additionally, this MBPS should enable predictable planning and forecasting of the results of AR integration, like efficiency, applicability, quality and other criteria, and therefor support the decision making about AR implementation. This requires a broad study and analysis of criteria for evaluating the results of AR integration and usage in automation in general and in the IPM in particular.