Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2021. Read them in this 13th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
Augmented Reality on the Factory Floor
By Dirck Schou, CEO, Taqtile
For years we've been hearing about augmented and virtual
reality solutions entering the mainstream, but year-after-year these
future-looking consumer applications have struggled to find their mainstream
niche. However, we believe 2021 is truly the year of AR - on the factory floor.
1. Disruption Management
The disruptions of 2020 have forced enterprises to aggressively explore
and rapidly adopt remote work and automation solutions. At enterprise
organizations in multiple industries, we expect to see a trend toward
adoption of augmented reality (AR) solutions, as AR sits squarely at the
intersection of remote work and automation strategies. AR is adept at
leveraging existing expertise and sharing it quickly and
efficiently across teams of frontline workers tasked with
maintaining and repairing complex machinery. Expect to see mixed-reality
platforms that will allow experts to efficiently author step-by-step
processes that capture their knowledge for use in any operational or
training capacity.
2. Skills-Gap Management
As we
enter 2021, we will see the continued widening of the knowledge gap across
many industries. Nearly one quarter of industrial frontline workers are
age 55 or older, and they are retiring at a rate that is faster than new
workers are coming in to replace them. To address this expertise
depletion, we expect to see enterprise organizations install augmented
reality (AR) solutions to aid in training. Ultimately, AR systems will
become critical enterprise investments for capturing and sharing knowledge
with frontline workers, ultimately reducing errors, improving safety, and
increasing operational productivity.
3. Reinventing
Manufacturing
Frontline manufacturing jobs haven't experienced a digital transformation
yet, mostly because the right hardware hasn't existed - until now.
Consumer-driven mixed reality headsets like Magic Leap and Microsoft's
HoloLens are beginning to permeate the enterprise market. Over the next
decade, a majority of frontline workers will use some type of
head-mounted, enhanced computing device in their work. Advanced augmented
reality (AR) platforms will empower frontline workers to interact with
digital information in a much more intuitive way, altering how industrial
workforces are built, how staff is trained, and how knowledge is distributed
and put to use.
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About the Author
Dirck Schou, CEO, Taqtile
A business development
leader by background, Dirck T. Schou Jr. is Co-Founder and Chief Executive
Officer of Taqtile. Prior to starting Taqtile, Dirck held leadership positions
in enterprise software and hardware companies including Phoenix Technologies,
nCipher, and Spring Wireless, and founded security company Vesper Networks.
Dirck's career has been focused on growing technology companies from first
customer to successful exit by defining and identifying market segment and
establishing strong and effective partner ecosystems. Today he leads Taqtile's
efforts to bring digital transformation to industrial frontline workers through
Taqtile's Manifest platform. In his spare time, Dirck enjoys the outdoors with
his family in the Pacific Northwest.