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Augmented Reality: A New Workforce Mobilization Paradigm - Using advanced forms of AR, diverse teams and disciplines can be brought together to ...
Augmented Reality:
A New Workforce
Mobilization Paradigm
Using advanced forms of AR, diverse teams and
disciplines can be brought together to ensure faster
product realization and higher quality at reduced costs.
Augmented Reality: A New Workforce Mobilization Paradigm - Using advanced forms of AR, diverse teams and disciplines can be brought together to ...
Executive Summary
                Innovation is a constant in the information technology industry,
                continuously changing the way services are delivered to the business
                and to end users. From the mainframe era on to the Internet stage,
                we’re now experiencing the fifth IT wave, an era in which social, mobile,
                analytics and cloud (aka the SMAC Stack) are forming a new digital
                foundation with which to power business. SMAC is already changing
                how IT is being deployed across industries, and as business becomes
                increasingly digital this new stack is expected to have a multiplying
                effect on operational efficiency and productivity.1

                Another constant throughout technology’s swift progression is the
                exponential growth in computer processing power and the steady
                increase in the number of computing devices and users. Augmented
                and virtual-reality-based hardware devices are part of this growing
                computing base. They leverage advancements in mobile technology and
                big data analytics to offer new communications channels for enterprise
                applications. Augmented and virtual reality is converging with SMAC
                and, as a result, businesses across multiple sectors are now able to tap
                their vast potential to help users visualize data and instructions that
                overlay physical assets in real time.

                Imagine a worker who is on the factory floor conducting a routine
                equipment check for preventive maintenance and inspection activities.
                He comes across a piece of equipment and realizes that something has
                changed in the way he typically interacts with it. Earlier, the worker used
                to carry a heavy manual or rely on his supervisor to instruct and guide
                him through the inspection, but now he is empowered with a technology

2   KEEP CHALLENGING   October 2015
Augmented Reality: A New Workforce Mobilization Paradigm - Using advanced forms of AR, diverse teams and disciplines can be brought together to ...
that helps him to uniquely interact with this piece of industrial
equipment. This technology – augmented reality (AR) – is being deployed
to more effectively mobilize workers across multiple industries.

According to Gartner research,2 AR is poised to become an important
workplace tool. AR technology has matured to a point where
organizations can use it as an internal tool to complement and enhance
key business processes, workflows and employee training. Visualization
of content is among the many important business innovations that AR
can facilitate.

Many companies are increasingly applying AR tools to create effective
training programs that drive employee engagement and success in
the highly competitive global marketplace. Also, some companies
– manufacturing players among them – are not just seeking cost
savings but also trying to gain effective, in-time and quality training
methodologies that do not interfere with company operations or its
technological evolution.

Since AR technology operates in a real environment and provides
computer-generated aids to enhance the real world, the technology is
well positioned to transfer skills across the organization to a far greater
extent than old-style training methodologies, such as paper-based
manuals and DVDs.

This white paper explores different uses of AR in workforce-intensive
business environments and how companies can leverage AR to set up
their workforce for success.

                                   AUGMENTED REALITY: A NEW WORKFORCE MOBILIZATION PARADIGM   3
Augmented Technology Revolution
                                                       Augmented reality provides information and entertainment that overlays on the
                                                       physical world. The potential of augmented reality technology is wide but it remains
                                                       in the development stage, with most potential applications bottled up in laboratories
                                                       (see Figure 1 for a timeline). This technology has proved to be very comfortable and
                                                       user friendly, as the hardware requirements to experience AR can be a smartphone
                                                       or a tablet that users are familiar with. AR applications are not complicated to set
                                                                                                          3
                                                       up and, once installed, require minimal guidance.

    Augmented Reality Timeline
                                           Commercial
                                             aviation              First car HUD:
                                                                  Cutlass Supreme

                       Rear-view
                        mirrors                                                          Dedicated tools begin;
                                                                                               ARToolkit
                                                                                              UW HITLab             Useful smart-
                                                                                                          Nokia’s    phone AR Efficient
          Sailboat                                                                                        MARA                    power
          tell-tales                                        U.S. DoD                                                              usage
                               First jet fighter       air-combat testing
                               heads-up
                               display
                                                                                 “Augmented
                                                                                Environments,”
                                                                                  sensor nets

       Prehistory,     ~1900       1958        1970s        1974-8      1988        1992+        1999     2006         Now         20??
       soon after      Horse                                          “UbiComp;”     Tom                                Context-aware
       invention       carriages           Sutherland/                Mark Weiser Caudell &                              software that
       of the sail.                        Sprouil, ‘68:                         David Mizell                             “learns you”
                                            1st HMDs
                                                                Commercial helmet-                            Hands-up displays
                                                                mounted displays

    Figure 1

                                                       Progress of Augmented Reality
                                                       Augmented reality uses are diverse. Key workflows and applications that numerous
                                                       companies have built on various platforms include:

                                                       • Field service: Using AR technology, field service agents can access checklists and
                                                         work manuals. With the help of wearable technology, they can interact hands-free.
                                                         AR technology allows field service agents to interact with the system via voice
                                                         and gesture commands, and with video and sharing support they can interact
                                                         with other users to provide remote support.

                                                       • Energy and utilities: Energy and utility companies are exploring novel ways AR
                                                         can be used to transform their businesses. The areas include asset inspection,
                                                         reading meters, monitoring tasks remotely, and health and safety. The goal is to
                                                         ensure that the workforce is endowed with tools that provide appropriate situ-
                                                         ational acumen and facilitate timely task completion.

                                                       • Healthcare: AR technology helps users access medical records and important
                                                         patient vitals. Nurses and clinicians can use AR technology to learn about
                                                         upcoming surgeries, for modeling of organs and to explain medical procedures.

4    KEEP CHALLENGING        October 2015
AR technology also can be used to conduct training sessions on body parts and
  functionalities for medical students. The personalization of healthcare is among
  AR’s key value propositions.

• Automotive: This industry has used AR technology for over 10 years to visualize
                        4
  technical information. Progressive manufacturers are now exploring various
  established use cases for AR such as factory planning, product visualization,
  worker support and customer support. Players such as Metaio (which has been
  acquired by Apple) are leaders in this field.

• Industrial design: AR can help industrial designers experience a product’s
  design and operation before completion. Volkswagen, for example, uses AR for
                                                     5
  comparing calculated and actual crash test imagery. AR can be used to visualize
  a car body structure and engine layout. It can also be used to compare digital
  mock-ups with physical mock-ups for finding discrepancies between them.
In addition to the applications listed above, AR trials are multiplying in retail,
education, tourism and gaming, (see Figure 2).

Augmented Reality for Workforce Training
AR is considered a new experience for workforce training and development.
Companies are increasingly deploying AR-based solutions and creating impactful
training programs that improve employee engagement and productivity.

According to the American Society for Training and Development, investment in
employee training enhances a company’s financial performance. An increase of
$680 in training expenditures per employee generates, on average, a 6% improve-
                                 6
ment in total shareholder return.

A Louis Harris and Associates poll reports that among employees with poor training
opportunities, 41% planned to leave within a year. Only 12% planned to leave among
those who considered their company’s training opportunities to be excellent,
                                                                                  7
resulting in a retention rate more than two-thirds higher than average companies.

AR Possibilities: Limited Only by Imagination

                  Field Service                             Industrial
                                       Healthcare             Design                    Energy &                  Automotive
                                                                                         Utilities
                                                                                                        Tourism
                                                                         Retail

Figure 2

                                                            AUGMENTED REALITY: A NEW WORKFORCE MOBILIZATION PARADIGM   5
Current Training Methodologies
                                      Take an example of a classroom with 20 newly recruited manufacturing workforce
                                      members who are learning how to operate a machine. The trainer holds a 100-odd-
                                      page user manual that contains guidance on how to install, repair and uninstall a
                                      specific set of machine(s). Each machine part has umpteen procedures that must be
                                      followed; these instructions are verbally provided, with follow-up on-the-job training
                                      later on. The learning session is spread across multiple days, with a set of pages
                                      covered each day.

                                      How many members of this team of 20 will understand what is being delivered and
                                      be able to apply it? Will the learning be uniform across the group? Will this learning
                                      instill confidence among the new workforce members as well as company managers
                                      responsible for their activities?

                                      Today’s workforce is a cross-generational blend, including older workers, baby
                                      boomers, gen X-ers and millennials, with differing workforce expectations and
                                      learning styles. For instance, research by Casey Carlson and Deloitte & Touche
                                      showed that, as a group, baby boomers are more motivated by salary and do not
                                      handle negative feedback well, compared with millennials, who generally are more
                                                                                                                     8
                                      motivated by job security and do not believe performance feedback is necessary.

                                      Businesses have adapted to changing workforce dynamics, with the understanding
                                      that delivering on employee learning and development expectations is complicated
                                      and requires a variety of permutations to address workers’ wide array of needs.
                                      Training methods include face-to-face sessions, one-on-one tutorials, lectures, dem-
                                      onstrations, facilitated e-learning, self-paced e-learning and blended approaches.
                                      High-performing companies are employing a formula of 20% formal learning and
                                      80% informal learning, with the gap continuing to widen.9

                                      How Augmented Reality Can Enhance Training
                                      If implemented effectively, AR improves speed and quality of training. A research
                                      study by Columbia University concluded, after a battery of testing, that users
                                      guided by AR complete the same task in 53% of the time and more accurately than
                                                                    10
                                      previous forms of instruction. They also found it to be a more natural and intuitive
                                      way of learning.

                                      The delivery mechanism of AR-based trainings can be handhelds such as phones
                                      and tablets. It is easy to implement hands-free AR learning as solutions can also be
                                      developed on custom-built head-mounted devices (HMDs) such as Meta or on AR
                                      goggles such as zSpace and Optivent, etc. Custom-built AR wearables have their
                                      own development kits that can be used to build AR solutions.

                                      Delivering Training via AR
                                      Let us take the same case of the classroom filled with 20 newly recruited workers.
                                      Now instead of the 100-page manual, a prototype of the machine that workers need to
                                      be trained on is kept in the classroom. Each member of the workforce is equipped with
                                      a handheld device such as an iPad or a wearable such as Google Glass. The machine
                                      on the table acts as a marker, and each device is loaded with an application that
                                      can read this machine. When the employees (learners) direct their hardware on this
                                      machine, a realistic, 3-D, life-sized model of the machine is rendered into the physical
                                      world with information on each part of the machine and its role. Using gestures and
                                      touch, employees can see how each part of the machine works as if they are training
                                      on a real machine. Employees can turn on/off different elements on the screen so that
                                      all the parts of the machine and their locations can be clearly identified.

6   KEEP CHALLENGING   October 2015
Augmented Reality Training

Figure 3

What if we can replicate this training across industries with equipment and
machinery programmed to support AR?

Many say that instructor-led learning or learning via videos with the same animations
can be unified into the course. The advantage of using AR-based training is that
it retains the established training experience and also delivers improved under-
standing of concepts with its interactivity. In the aforementioned case, for example,
employees bring the same AR materials onto the production floor and continue to
learn on the job. They carry the AR application for better comprehension.

Augmented Reality for Maintenance and Inspection
With AR, custom-designed training and maintenance solutions allow complex
procedures to be animated directly on the equipment. With these animation-based
instructions and reference materials overlayed directly on the physical equipment,
workers can learn procedures more effectively and perform them more accurately.

Figure 4 (see next page) illustrates how AR technology can be leveraged to train
service mechanics to work with a car engine system.

Content, hardware and software are the three elements that drive successful
                          11
enterprise AR systems. Context-aware and transformational hardware offers
augmentation to the workforce’s senses. Sophisticated software prepares the
data and captures the interaction of the workforce with the assets. However,
it is the spectrum of data that allows enterprises to extract the benefits of AR
technology. What this means is it’s not just about introducing and equipping the
workforce with technology but it is also about making machines more intelligent
by using their metadata to communicate with the workforce. Gartner predicts
that “by 2018, the total cost of ownership for business operations will be reduced
                                                                            12
by 30% through the use of smart machines and industrialized services.”

                                                              AUGMENTED REALITY: A NEW WORKFORCE MOBILIZATION PARADIGM   7
AR Training for Car Service Mechanics

                                      Figure 4
                                      Research is already ongoing in this area on devices such as smart helmets, 3-D
                                      goggles, intelligent gloves, etc. – all of which have been prototyped and showcased
                                      at multiple AR industry conferences. These smart machines are not a futuristic
                                      sci-fi vision but rather they are systems that are available today for demo and can
                                      be adopted by businesses for trial runs.

                                      Leveraging AR Solutions
                                      Service engineers come across numerous machine-related issues on the shop floor,
                                      and typically depend on user manuals or their supervisor to assist and resolve
                                      them. This problem is exacerbated when engineers and supervisors are remotely
                                      located, which extends resolution time and limits productivity.

                                      The typical workflow is as follows (see Figure 5):

                                      •   User has a guideline book or a manual.

                                      •   User studies the information in the manual and tries to fix the faulty machine.

                                      •   When the user is unable to fix it, he refers the issue to his supervisor who goes
                                          through the manual again or uses his experience to fix an issue.

                                      Typical Repair-Instruction Workflow

                                          Engineers use the help manual              Engineers refers to help manuals or
                                           for each piece of equipment.              ask for assistance from supervisors
                                                                                               to rectify issues.
                                          Engineers         Help Manual             Help Manual                Machinery

                                             User             Medium                                             Target

                                      Figure 5

8   KEEP CHALLENGING   October 2015
With an AR-based solution, this dependency on hard copy instructions or user
manuals is eliminated and the understanding of how to fix issues is increased as
the solution is visually communicated to the engineer. A step-by-step, 3-D overlaid
instruction manual guides engineers to fix critical machine-related issues – while
keeping in mind issues of risk and safety (see Figure 6).

The new process flow does not just allow the engineer to understand the fix to
the problem but also helps him to remember the steps, as visual communication is
retained for a far longer period than any textual communication.

AR-Enabled Instructional Workflow

  Engineers use the handheld/      Handhelds/wearables are projected on the                   Engineer uses AR technology and experiences
       wearable devices.                  user manual or machinery.                                       the following actions.
                                                        Help                                3D model of the equipment comes alive on screen
  Engineers   Wearable              Wearable           Manual Machinery                       which allows user to experience the following:

                                                                              Processing
                     Handheld              Handheld
                                                                                           ✓ Select Procedures           Voice Control

                                                                                             Overlay Instructions        Gesture Control

  Engineer       Medium                 Medium               Target                          Animated Instructions       Repeat Procedures

Figure 6

AR opens multiple doors through which users can interact with the equipment.
Users can see various work procedures; using gestures or voice, they can maneuver
the guide. The instructions are overlaid on the equipment, thus making trouble-
shooting very intuitive.

A Workforce Mobilization Platform
User Experience Lab is an interdisciplinary group of researchers and dedicated
technologists that incubates disruptive technologies in disparate fields, including
virtual presence, wearable computing, tangible interfaces and affective computing.
In one such incubation process, the team built a workforce mobilization platform,
called NeoSight.

NeoSight is a custom-designed training and maintenance platform that facili-
tates interactive learning by animating procedural rules directly over the target
equipment. Currently, NeoSight provides training using AR technology to overlay
interactive visual instructions on real-world equipment. Interactive direct demon-
stration simplifies learning. NeoSight facilitates the “do-and-learn” model that does
not require any special skills as a prerequisite.

NeoSight Features
NeoSight allows users to consume computer-aided design (CAD) drawings and then
prepare a step-by-step learning model. This platform is scalable and can accommo-
date additional procedures over time or business requirements using a dedicated
server or cloud computing space. The platform has a help screen through which the
users can familiarize themselves with the solution’s interface. The users can also
replay the entire procedure, or just a single step, to gain a thorough understanding.

                                                               AUGMENTED REALITY: A NEW WORKFORCE MOBILIZATION PARADIGM                        9
Looking Forward: The Future of AR-Based Training
                                                        AR has been around for decades but was seen more as “eye candy” rather than
                                                        anything truly useful. However, AR is now viewed as a potential game changer,
                                                        because it can produce experiences that can actually reduce hardware and people
                                                        dependencies by delivering real-time information to inform user movements.
                                                                                                                                               13
                                                        The global AR market is poised to grow at a CAGR of 96.52% by 2019. In parallel,
                                                        businesses are responding by investing in workforce development, with training
                                                        budgets increasing 15% on average, to identify capability gaps and cultivate “into
                                                                           14
                                                        the future” skills. Interactive learning is among the encouraging areas where AR is
                                                        expected to succeed. Voice and gestures are the strategic elements in learning and
                                                        AR enables this interactivity, thus facilitating newer understanding. Since AR can be
                                                        developed to align with situation-based learning, enterprises investing in workforce
                                                        training should find this appealing.

          The Future of AR
                                                                                            Save Significant Amount of Time
                                                                                            Labels, circuit diagrams, document link, machine
                                                                              Diagnostics   history, error tracking, virtual laser points.

           Inspection & Maintenance                                                                            Remote Support
           Overlay of data, machine history, hands-free    Safety                               Support        Send images, voice call with onsite support
           troubleshooting, guided maintenance support.                                                        team, spoken instructions, video sequences.

                                                                              NeoSight

                Marketing and Sales                         Cost                                                Step-by-Step Instructions
                Hands on training, situation oriented
                                                          Reduction                           Disassembly       Accurate, diagrams, video guides.
                scenario create catalogs.

                              Appealing and Fun                                Training
                              Better visualization, accurate, superimposed.

          Figure 7

10   KEEP CHALLENGING       October 2015
Footnotes
1    http://www.cognizant.com/latest-thinking/digital-business
2    “Gartner Says Augmented Reality Will Become an Important Workplace Tool.”
     http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2649315
3    http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/augmented-reality-market.asp
4    “Will Augmented Reality enter to the automotive industry?” https://www.quora.com/Will-
     Augmented-Reality-enter-to-the-automotive-industry
5    “What’s Augmented Reality and how does it work?” http://www.appfutura.com/blog/whats-
     augmented-reality-and-how-does-it-work/
6    “Training and Education: Increase your ROI.” http://datacondental.com/sites/default/files/
     Datacon/NewsletterPDFs/2011/Aug11.pdf
7    Training/Continuing Education Critical to Potential Hires. http://www.marketwired.com/press-
     release/training-continuing-education-critical-to-potential-hires-1259823.htm
8    http://www.pm360online.com/augmented-reality-as-an-effective-training-strategy/
9    Ibid
10   “Augmented Reality: Ready for Training or in Its Infancy?” http://hwd3d.com/blog/augment-
     ed-reality-for-training/
11   “Three Key Elements of an Enterprise AR System.” http://thearea.org/three-key-elements-
     enterprise-ar-system/
12   “Gartner Reveals Top Predictions for IT Organizations and Users for 2015 and Beyond.”
     http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2866617
13   Global Mobile Augmented Reality Market 2015-2019. http://globenewswire.com/news-
     release/2015/06/30/748468/0/en/Global-Mobile-Augmented-Reality-Market-2015-2019.
     html?utm_campaign=Contact+SNS+For+More+Referrer&utm_medium=twitter&utm_
     source=snsanalytics
14   The Corporate Learning Factbook 2014: Benchmarks, Trends, and Analysis of the U.S. Training
     Market. http://www.bersin.com/uploadedFiles/012714WWBCLF.pdf

References
• http://blog.commlabindia.com/mlearning/will-augmented-training-fit-ilt-training
• http://augmera.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/on-the-run.jpg
• http://augmera.com/?p=214
• http://venturebeat.com/2014/05/29/augmented-reality-wheres-the-venture-capital/
• http://zugara.com/augmented-reality-finally-gaining-traction-wsj
• http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304585004579417612087615766

                                                                 AUGMENTED REALITY: A NEW WORKFORCE MOBILIZATION PARADIGM   11
Acknowledgement
                        Special thanks to Ramesh Yechangunja, Principal Architect, User Experience Lab,
                        for his invaluable feedback during the course of writing this paper.

                        About the Authors
                        Mahesh Venkatasubramanian is a Senior Business Analyst in the Cognizant
                        Technology Lab. His core responsibilities include working in consulting
                        projects in the immersive space across industries. Mahesh has 10+ years of
                        progressive experience in business development and account management.
                        He earned an M.B.A. with specialization in marketing from XIME, Bangalore.
                        Mahesh can be reached at Mahesh.Venkatasubramanian@cognizant.com |
                        https://twitter.com/maheshvs | https://www.linkedin.com/in/maheshvs.

                        Shipra Gupta is an Enterprise-Level Software Architect in the Cognizant Technology
                        Lab with 15-plus years of IT industry experience in software architecture definition,
                        design and development. She has earned her M.C.A. from IGNOU, Delhi. Shipra can
                        be reached at Shipra.Gupta3@cognizant.com | https://www.linkedin.com/pub/ship-
                        ra-gupta/9/aa7/a09.

                        Gyanendu Shekhar is a Technology Specialist in the Cognizant Technology
                        Lab. He works with different immersive technologies and the .NET framework.
                        Gyanendu earned his M.Tech. from IIT Mumbai. He can be reached at
                        Gyanendu.Shekhar@cognizant.com | https://www.linkedin.com/pub/gyanendu-
                        shekhar/48/643/b0.

12   KEEP CHALLENGING   October 2015
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