Using Augmented Reality in Smart Manufacturing.
Deac, Crina Narcisa ; Deac, Gicu Calin ; Popa, Cicerone Laurentiu 等
Using Augmented Reality in Smart Manufacturing.
1. Introduction
Recently, thanks to the emergence of the Industry 4.0, the MAS
(Multi Agent Systems) combined with the new technologies (Internet of
Things--IoT, wireless sensor networks, big data, cloud computing and
mobile Internet, made possible the appearance of the "smart
manufacturing" concept [1].
In simple terms, smart manufacturing can be considered the pursuit
of data-driven manufacturing, where real-time data from sensors in the
factory can be analyzed to inform decision-making. More generally, smart
manufacturing can be considered a specialization of big data, whereby
big data technologies and methods are extended to meet the needs of
manufacturing. [2]
Industry 4.0 proposes the predictive manufacturing in the future
industry. The machines are connected as a collaborative community. Such
evolution requires the utilization of advance prediction tools, so that
data can be systematically processed into information that can explain
the uncertainties and thereby make more "informed" decisions
[3].
The augmented reality has a broad applicability in the industry,
from real-time viewing of product information and production flow [10],
viewing kinematic simulations and displaying deformations and loads [9],
to product design, maintenance and logistics.
Several empirical studies were conducted on the field in order to
research the effectiveness of AR applied to industrial operations: J.
Saaski et al. and S. J. Henderson et al. results show a performance
improvement up to 50%, which means that AR enables workers to perform a
given task faster and with a lower possibility of error [4,5].
Following the investigations of IIoT (Industrial Internet of
Things) platforms, we noticed that:
* There is no integration of predictive analytical maintenance
applications with actual physical operation maintenance processes, for
direct transmission and field registration of information through the
operator team or autonomous robots that perform component replacement.
* There are no horizontal implementations for the availability of
necessary maintenance information (components, accessories, supplies
etc., or their availability to suppliers and delivery times)
* There are no integrated technical bookstores for maintenance
processes (technical catalogues, procedures, etc.) that are immediately
available depending on the required maintenance.
* There is no universal open bookstore for gathering and querying
concrete cases of malfunctions and process parameters that led to them
for easy consultation and modelling. (Through this bookstore, the cases
experienced by a company can be analysed and taken into account by other
companies.)
The PTC ThingWorx platform offers users the opportunity to develop
VUFORIA-based AR applications, but there are no complete predefined
implementations [6].
2. Open-source mobile application for maintenance
The research theme was proposed by FESTO Didactic and consists in
building an open-source mobile application for maintenance based on WEB
technologies and AR.
The purpose of this application is to provide useful information
for intervention teams, such us:
* Identification of machines and their components
* State of the machinery components and subassemblies
* Information on the history of previous maintenance processes
(date and time of the maintenance operation, cause, technical team etc.)
* Information on inventory of components, suppliers, prices
* Technical library (user manuals, technical manuals, labour safety
etc.)
* Media library with video clips on maintenance
* Enhanced videoconference application for remote support
To implement the application, we only used web technologies, so the
application can run directly into the web browser, on any device or
operating system, and server-type architecture, ensuring centralization
of information and ease of maintenance for libraries. The major
challenge was to identify existing web technologies that could support
this deployment.
We started from the basic principle of building an augmented
reality application, namely:
* Taking a video stream from a webcam
* Analysis of AR identification markers
* Generating 2D or 3D augmented content
* View video stream and augmented content
For the video stream coming from the camera, we selected WebRTC /
getUserMedia, which is a new HTML5 technology that does not require the
installation of any additional driver or plugin.
The interface of the application was made using HTML5, CSS and
javascript and for the server application we have used PHP and MySQL.
For AR markers, we chose the Aruco model (figure 1.), for which
there is already implementation in javascript (Aruco libraries based on
OpenCV technology) [7].
For augmented 2D or 3D content we chose WebGL 2.0 technology (Web
graphics library) implemented in the THREEjs library, which allows
creating, importing and displaying 3D animations using Javascript
without importing plugins [8].
The operating principle is as follows:
a. The operator scans by means of tablet, phone or laptop using the
video camera, the markers on each machine and its components.
b. When identifying markers, the component identification
information and the minimum description (image, name, serial) overlap
with the image provided by the camera.
c. The operator is approaching the target component, and at that
point after it is identified in the web interface, all useful
information about that component is loaded.
Once the application is accessed, the home screen is displayed and
here the camcorder is selected (Camera Settings, front or rear--Figure
2). By clicking the red button, the user gets inside the Scanning screen
(SCAN) where the AR application is deployed (Figure 3). The interface
also contains the main menu of the application (Scan, Library, Stocks,
Maintenance). The user starts the scanning. After the scan is done the
software identifies the component Id and brings more information about
the scanned component that can be interrogated by clicking the other
items from the menu.
By selecting Stocks from the main menu, an info screen (Figure 4)
containing different useful information related to the scanned component
is presented: general information about the component including
inventory, condition, warranty and model data, purchase information,
issues, existent opened tickets, info attached files and admin interface
for asset edit.
The Library menu item loads selectively, depending on the scanned
AR marker, the corresponding technical library organised by visual tabs
with pdf links to different articles regarding installation and
maintenance or technical information about the scanned component (Figure
5).
By selecting Maintenance, the user can obtain information about the
maintenance processes and history of that component, including
maintenance tasks assigned to the team, statuses of the tasks and due
dates, also a video library about maintenance processes and useful
instructions offered by a video guide. (Figure 6)
In case the operator needs support, a Videoconference tab can be
accessed and the logged user can enter a videoconference for being
assisted during the maintenance process or for asking other information.
Audio, video, chat, file sharing and screen sharing are the main
features available inside this module (Figure 7).
The video conferencing allows simultaneous connection of multiple
users and includes the following: High Definition video, audio, screen
sharing, file transfer, text chat, video sharing from Youtube, SIP
connection with other proprietary conference systems and allows a great
remote support.
3. Conclusion
In our research, we have succeeded to implement an open source web
AR application for maintenance which does not depend on any other
proprietary cloud platform, the processing (scanning, marker
identification, tracking, augmentation) is performed directly in the
client's web browser using javascript, unlike other solutions
requiring the installation of proprietary applications and the payment
of licenses or subscriptions.
This software extends the IIoT platforms capabilities, providing
useful real-time information to the operators who are on the ground and
need support or immediate information: technical manuals, operating
diagrams, maintenance history, components availability in the warehouse
or in suppliers' stock with the possibility of direct order,
training videos for maintenance and work safety.
Limitations: The only limitations of this application are that Web
RTc technology used for scanning and video conferencing is not yet
implemented in web browsers running on the ioS platform (iphone, ipad)
being still under implementation.
Future work: our future work will be focused on extending the
mobile application for maintenance with new modules and functionalities,
based on client's requests. It will contain also data processing
analyze for predictive maintenance. We intend to publish online the
application as an open source project.
DOI: 10.2507/28th.daaam.proceedings.102
4. Acknowledgments
We want to thank to our partner FESTo Didactic for collaboration
and support.
5. References
[1] Wang, S., Wan, J., Li, D., & Zhang, C. (2016). Implementing
smart factory of industrie 4.0: An outlook. International Journal of
Distributed Sensor Networks, pp. 1-10, ISSN: 15501477
[2] O'Donovan, P., Leahy, K., Bruton, K. & O'SuUivan,
D. T. J. (2015). An industrial big data pipeline for data-driven
analytics maintenance applications in large-scale smart manufacturing
facilities, Journal of Big Data, pp 1-26, ISSN 2196-1115
[3] Lee, J., Kao, H. A., & Yang, S. (2014). Service innovation
and smart analytics for industry 4.0 and big data environment. Procedia
CIRP, pp. 3-8, ISSN: 2212-8271
[4] Saaski, J., Salonen, T., Liinasuo, M., Pakkanen, J., Vanhatalo,
M., Riitahuhta, A. (2008). Augmented Reality Efficiency in Manufacturing
Industry: A Case Study, Proceedings of NordDesign 2008 Conference, ISBN
9789985-59-840-5, pp. 99-109
[5] Henderson, S. J. & Feiner, S. (2009). Evaluating the
benefits of augmented reality for task localization in maintenance of an
armored personnel carrier turret, 8th IEEE International Symposium on
Mixed and Augmented Reality, ISBN: 978-1-4244-5390-0, pp. 135-144
[6] https://www.ptc.com/en/internet-of-things/technology-platform-thingworx, 2017, Accessed on: 2017-08-10
[7] https://sourceforge.net/projects/aruco/files, Aruco Markers for
Augmented Reality applications based on OpenCV, Accessed on: 2017-08-10
[8] https://threejs.org/, Accessed on: 2017-08-10
[9] Park, H. S. & Park, J. W.: Application Method of Augmented
Reality Including FEM to Manufacturing System, Annals of DAAAM for 2011
& Proceedings of the 22nd International DAAAM Symposium, Volume 22,
No. 1, ISSN 1726-9679 ISBN 978-3-901509-83-4, Editor B. Katalinic,
Published by DAAAM International, Vienna, Austria, EU, 2011
[10] Novak-Marcincin, J.; Barna, J.; Fecova, V. & Novakova -
Marcincinova, L.: Augmented Reality Applications in Manufacturing
Engineering, Annals of DAAAM for 2012 & Proceedings of the 23rd
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978-3-901509-91-9, CDROM version, Ed. B. Katalinic, Published by DAAAM
International, Vienna, Austria, EU, 2012
Caption: Fig. 1. Example of ArUco Markers
Caption: Fig. 2. Application starting screen
Caption: Fig. 3. Scanning page
Caption: Fig. 4. Info screen
Caption: Fig. 5. Technical Library
Caption: Fig. 6. Maintenance
Caption: Fig. 7. AR Videoconference
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