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Volkswagen trialling augmented reality

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles in the UK is undertaking a four-month trial of RealWear augmented reality glasses to support the work of its service technicians.

The bespoke augmented reality platform allows the technicians to connect directly with the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicle’s Technical Support Centre in Milton Keynes. Experts at the centre will send precise visual instructions, guiding technicians through complex repairs by augmenting images, wiring diagrams and adding repair suggestions into their view whilst talking them through the necessary diagnostic steps.

The hardware is comprised of a microphone, head camera, display screen and a voice activation function that provides a fully augmented video broadcast, and if the trial proves successful, a national roll-out will begin in June of this year.

Paul Anderson, Service Operations Manager at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles in the UK, said: “This is an exciting step forward in maximising uptime for our customers through the use of augmented reality and remote diagnostic tools. Our ultimate aim is to ensure we can keep the customers’ vehicles on the road for longer and that means reducing the time it takes to repair a vehicle when it’s in the workshop.

“The new devices allow our team of Technical Support Agents to support our network with a virtual visit which is as close as possible to the real thing – without the limitations. Factors such as time out of the office, speed to booking and travel time are stripped out leaving only the value of having our technical support agents virtually in the Van Centre to support the diagnostic process. There’s clearly an environmental benefit in this approach too.”