Smart Company: innovating processes through Augmented Reality
Industry 4.0 and Smart Company are two similar terms referring to those companies that use exponential technologies to reinvent their business model and adopt an open innovation approach, which means they promote constant innovation by drawing on internal and external resources.
According to the Italian National Industry 4.0 Plan, this set of emerging technologies is made up of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality(VR), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain, Internet of things(IoT), Big Data, Quantum Computing,Additive Manufacturing , Robotization and RPA, 5G, Nanotechnology ,and Biotechnology.
The enabling technologies for smart companies have been at the center of the last study carried out by Casaleggio Associati on the state of digital innovation in Italy and in the world, presented on November 14 in Milan.
Among the companies analyzed in the report, besides A2A, Amazon, Google, IBM, and Vodafone, there is also JoinPad cited as one of the main actors in the AR sector in Italy and internationally. Our Augmented Reality solutions for industrial companies cover the needs for greater safety, speed, and precision in the execution of processes such as remote support, logistics, maintenance, repair, and training.
New technologies will increasingly impact business models, jobs, and processes, making them more efficient and less expensive.
Alongside these benefits, we certainly have to consider the social and work changes that will inevitably arise: if on one hand innovations create new jobs, on the other hand, they weigh heavily on employment in highly automated sectors characterized by simple, dangerous or routine activities. We are not yet at the level of complete replacement of human beings, and many experts believe we are likely never going to reach this scenario, despite the continuous journalistic alarm. Still, the first artificial robots and systems have already entered the companies going to collaborate side by side with technicians and operators in various fields.
With this in mind, Augmented Reality remains a technology deeply tied to people’s work, proving to be a strong ally, especially for on-field services. It is estimated that in the coming years, the AR sector for mobile devices will reach 108 billion euros by 2021.
Smart Company: innovating processes through Augmented Reality
Industry 4.0 and Smart Company are two similar terms referring to those companies that use exponential technologies to reinvent their business model and adopt an open innovation approach, which means they promote constant innovation by drawing on internal and external resources.
According to the Italian National Industry 4.0 Plan, this set of emerging technologies is made up of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality(VR), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain, Internet of things(IoT), Big Data, Quantum Computing,Additive Manufacturing , Robotization and RPA, 5G, Nanotechnology ,and Biotechnology.
The enabling technologies for smart companies have been at the center of the last study carried out by Casaleggio Associati on the state of digital innovation in Italy and in the world, presented on November 14 in Milan.
Among the companies analyzed in the report, besides A2A, Amazon, Google, IBM, and Vodafone, there is also JoinPad cited as one of the main actors in the AR sector in Italy and internationally. Our Augmented Reality solutions for industrial companies cover the needs for greater safety, speed, and precision in the execution of processes such as remote support, logistics, maintenance, repair, and training.
New technologies will increasingly impact business models, jobs, and processes, making them more efficient and less expensive.
Alongside these benefits, we certainly have to consider the social and work changes that will inevitably arise: if on one hand innovations create new jobs, on the other hand, they weigh heavily on employment in highly automated sectors characterized by simple, dangerous or routine activities. We are not yet at the level of complete replacement of human beings, and many experts believe we are likely never going to reach this scenario, despite the continuous journalistic alarm. Still, the first artificial robots and systems have already entered the companies going to collaborate side by side with technicians and operators in various fields.
With this in mind, Augmented Reality remains a technology deeply tied to people’s work, proving to be a strong ally, especially for on-field services. It is estimated that in the coming years, the AR sector for mobile devices will reach 108 billion euros by 2021.
Augmented Reality: characteristics and industrial applications
Augmented Reality technology is increasingly used, and it is changing the face of industrial processes and Field Service Management related to logistics, maintenance, repair, training, and remote assistance.
Let’s give some examples.
By working with an important Italian company in the fashion industry, we have implemented an Augmented Reality solution for smart glasses that allowed employees to move pieces of clothing and boxes more easily by displaying bar codes and other information at eye level. Having both hands free, and not having to bend over the goods has reduced the physical fatigue of the workers and increased productivity.
A classic example showcasing the use of AR is in the field of industrial remote support for which we have developed Smart Assistance: the field technician requires real-time help from a remote expert who can best guide him in completing the intervention. The information, presented in Augmented Reality directly on his visual field, allows him to carry out the activity more quickly, avoiding typical misunderstandings and delays of a video call without the use of AR.
Or, through an Augmented Reality authoring platform like BrainPad, it was possible to create step-by-step maintenance guides for electronic operations, providing hundreds of remote technicians with contextual information in AR to complete the work efficiently, simply framing the object.
Adopting emerging enabling technologies is usually considered an expensive and demanding decision also in terms of implementation and adjustment efforts, which require long periods of employee training.
But behind an AR solution, there is an in-in-depth UI and UX design study that makes it extremely easy to use applications, so it takes just a few minutes or hours of training, depending on the complexity of the process, to get acquainted with the application.
Among the main benefits of this technology, there are high scalability, accessibility, and versatility. A ready to use application provided as SaaS (Software as a Service) can be used immediately either from SMEs and Large Enterprises in a wide range of sectors – from manufacturing to energy, oil & gas, telecommunications, and transport – at a price range that will vary based on the number of users.
Some companies, as JoinPad, develop their own software. This allows us to have greater flexibility and speed when customers require additional features. Moreover, thanks to the retrofitting approach, we can distribute our applications for smartphones, tablet, and smart glasses on devices our clients already have, thus avoiding the purchaise of new equipment.
One way to find out how AR technology can adapt to your business processes is to request a free demo or start a pilot.
Augmented Reality: characteristics and industrial applications
Augmented Reality technology is increasingly used, and it is changing the face of industrial processes and Field Service Management related to logistics, maintenance, repair, training, and remote assistance.
Let’s give some examples.
By working with an important Italian company in the fashion industry, we have implemented an Augmented Reality solution for smart glasses that allowed employees to move pieces of clothing and boxes more easily by displaying bar codes and other information at eye level. Having both hands free, and not having to bend over the goods has reduced the physical fatigue of the workers and increased productivity.
A classic example showcasing the use of AR is in the field of industrial remote support for which we have developed Smart Assistance: the field technician requires real-time help from a remote expert who can best guide him in completing the intervention. The information, presented in Augmented Reality directly on his visual field, allows him to carry out the activity more quickly, avoiding typical misunderstandings and delays of a video call without the use of AR.
Or, through an Augmented Reality authoring platform like BrainPad, it was possible to create step-by-step maintenance guides for electronic operations, providing hundreds of remote technicians with contextual information in AR to complete the work efficiently, simply framing the object.
Adopting emerging enabling technologies is usually considered an expensive and demanding decision also in terms of implementation and adjustment efforts, which require long periods of employee training.
But behind an AR solution, there is an in-in-depth UI and UX design study that makes it extremely easy to use applications, so it takes just a few minutes or hours of training, depending on the complexity of the process, to get acquainted with the application.
Among the main benefits of this technology, there are high scalability, accessibility, and versatility. A ready to use application provided as SaaS (Software as a Service) can be used immediately either from SMEs and Large Enterprises in a wide range of sectors – from manufacturing to energy, oil & gas, telecommunications, and transport – at a price range that will vary based on the number of users.
Some companies, as JoinPad, develop their own software. This allows us to have greater flexibility and speed when customers require additional features. Moreover, thanks to the retrofitting approach, we can distribute our applications for smartphones, tablet, and smart glasses on devices our clients already have, thus avoiding the purchaise of new equipment.
One way to find out how AR technology can adapt to your business processes is to request a free demo or start a pilot.
Try the ultimate AR-based remote work tool for Industry 4.0.
Discover Smart Assistance
Try the ultimate AR-based remote work tool for Industry 4.0.
Discover Smart Assistance
How smart working changes
Enabling technologies and Augmented Reality, in particular, are growing in importance as levers to create new forms of Smart Working, which are no longer meant only for “white-collar” but also for the so-called “blue-collar” workers within factories, and in the field service industry.
In these sectors, the expression takes on a different nuance since technicians cannot, for example, handle the wiring of an industrial plant from home. It is more like an evolution of traditional communication and collaboration tools in which Augmented Reality plays a fundamental role, helping to improve and make processes faster and safer through real-time contextual instructions in the form of graphic elements (arrows, warning signs), documents, photos, videos, virtual assistants.
The 4.0 technicians must keep up to date, while the company they belong to should provide innovative tools that allow them to manage increasingly widespread intelligent assets in the smart factories we are building.
The new business models
In the report, a whole section is dedicated to the impact of new technologies on business models which, to be truly innovative, will have to be radically transformed and not only updated by adding new digital systems.
The new approaches could encourage the creation of innovative products or services, and the improvement of processes with consequent reduction of costs and greater efficiency.
In particular, the Casaleggio Associati report identifies eight business models that make up the Frisbee Model, four of which are focused on companies and the other four on the individual.
You can read the details of each model by downloading the report directly from their website at the following link.
All models depict the transition from a rigid organizational structure to a “more logic one based on the workflow”, in which greater importance is given to the autonomy and responsibility of the workers. In such systems, everyone must maintain a high capacity to learn continuously to adapt to market changes.
Therefore, constant training plays a fundamental strategic role in companies to cope with the turnover and aging workforce. Augmented Reality applications such as BrainPad are used precisely to centralize the company’s know-how in a single platform and make it accessible to workers through the mobile app wherever they are. A troubleshooting guide in AR can thus be employed during the training of new technicians who can practice through highly interactive simulations.
In the report, a whole section is dedicated to the impact of new technologies on business models which, to be truly innovative, will have to be radically transformed and not only updated by adding new digital systems.
The new approaches could encourage the creation of innovative products or services, and the improvement of processes with consequent reduction of costs and greater efficiency.
In particular, the Casaleggio Associati report identifies eight business models that make up the Frisbee Model, four of which are focused on companies and the other four on the individual.
You can read the details of each model by downloading the report directly from their website at the following link.
All models depict the transition from a rigid organizational structure to a “more logic one based on the workflow”, in which greater importance is given to the autonomy and responsibility of the workers. In such systems, everyone must maintain a high capacity to learn continuously to adapt to market changes.
Therefore, constant training plays a fundamental strategic role in companies to cope with the turnover and aging workforce. Augmented Reality applications such as BrainPad are used precisely to centralize the company’s know-how in a single platform and make it accessible to workers through the mobile app wherever they are. A troubleshooting guide in AR can thus be employed during the training of new technicians who can practice through highly interactive simulations.
Conclusion
At the center of an ongoing debate, emerging technologies are spreading ever more in the production processes not only of large companies but also of small and medium-sized enterprises, thanks to their constant advancements, lower prices and the opportunities they offer. On the other hand, there are also many challenges in terms of employment, technology-human relationship, and environmental problems.
The report ends with the example of an ideal corporate model of a smart company (already implemented by some pioneer companies): the Benefit Corporation, which reinvests profits in benefits for employees, the community, and the environment.
In the future, stakeholders will reward companies that will be “able to create more value than they destroy“.
Conclusion
At the center of an ongoing debate, emerging technologies are spreading ever more in the production processes not only of large companies but also of small and medium-sized enterprises, thanks to their constant advancements, lower prices and the opportunities they offer. On the other hand, there are also many challenges in terms of employment, technology-human relationship, and environmental problems.
The report ends with the example of an ideal corporate model of a smart company (already implemented by some pioneer companies): the Benefit Corporation, which reinvests profits in benefits for employees, the community, and the environment.
In the future, stakeholders will reward companies that will be “able to create more value than they destroy“.
In the future, stakeholders will reward companies that will be “able to create more value than they destroy“.
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