Unveiling the Potential of Mixed Reality: Enhancing Time Measurement and Operator Support in Manual Assembly Processes

Abstract

This study investigates the potential of Mixed Reality (MR) in the manual assembly processes and conducts a case study at a pump manufacturing plant in Sweden. An MR solution is developed to assist operators through visual instructions and guiding aides. The solution also captures the operator's motions using advanced hand and eye tracking features for real-time guidance and accurate time measurement. The proposed MR solution uses the build feature of HoLolens and a workstation editor, which facilitates the use of the solution in diverse assembly environments. The results of the experiments show that the developed MR solution can improve operator support, reduce errors, and enhance the overall efficiency of manual assembly processes. Moreover, it is shown to be an efficient tool for time measurement of the manual assembly process that has promising potential to replace sophisticated and time-consuming traditional time study methods.